Jeremiah

1These are the messages of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah was the son of a man named
Hilkiah. Jeremiah belonged to the family of
priests that lived in the city of Anathoth.* That
city is in the land that belongs to the family
group of Benjamin. 2The Lord began to speak
to Jeremiah during the days when Josiah was
king of the nation of Judah. Josiah was the son
of a man named Amon. The Lord began to
speak to Jeremiah in the 13th year that Josiah
was king.* 3The Lord continued to speak to
Jeremiah while Jehoiakim was king of Judah.
Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah. The Lord
continued to speak to Jeremiah during the
eleven years and five months that Zedekiah
was king of Judah. Zedekiah was also a son of
Josiah. In the fifth month of Zedekiah’s
eleventh year as king, the people that lived in
Jerusalem were taken away into exile.
God Calls Jeremiah
4The Lord’s message came to Jeremiah.
This message was from the Lord:
5 “Before I made you in your mother’s body,
I knew you.
Before you were born,
I chose you for a special work.
I chose you to be a prophet
to the nations.”
6Then Jeremiah said, “But Lord All-
Powerful, I don’t know how to speak. I am
only a boy.”
priests that lived in the city of Anathoth These priests
probably belonged to the family of the priest Abiathar.
Abiathar was a high priest in Jerusalem during the time David
was king. He was sent away to Anathoth by King Solomon.
See 1 Kings 2:26.
13th year that Josiah was king That is 627 B.C.
853
Jeremiah
7But the Lord said to me,
“Don’t say, ‘I am only a boy.’
You must go everywhere I send you.
You must say everything I tell you to say.
8 Don’t be afraid of anyone.
I am with you,
and I will protect you.”
This message is from the Lord.
9Then the Lord reached out with his hand
and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me,
“Jeremiah, I am putting my words
in your mouth.
10 Today I have put you in charge
of nations and kingdoms.
You will pull up and tear down.
You will destroy and overthrow.
You will build up and plant.”
Two Visions
11The Lord’s message came to me. This
message was from the Lord: “Jeremiah, what
do you see?”
I answered the Lord and said, “I see a stick
made from almond wood.”
12The Lord said to me, “You have seen
very well. And I am watching* to make sure
that my message to you comes true.”
13The Lord’s message came to me again.
This was the Lord’s message: “Jeremiah, what
do you see?”
I answered the Lord and said, “I see a pot
of boiling water. That pot is tipping over from
the north.”
watching This is a word play. “Shaqed” is the Hebrew word for
“almond wood,” and “shoqed” means “watching.”

JEREMIAH 1:14–2:7
14 The Lord said to me,
“Something terrible will come
from the north.
It will happen to all the people
that live in this country.
15 In a short time I will call all of the people
in the northern kingdoms.”
The Lord said those things.
“The kings of those countries will come
and set up their thrones
near the gates of Jerusalem.
They will attack the city walls of Jerusalem.
They will attack all the cities in Judah.
16 And I will announce my judgment
against my people.
I will do this because they are bad people
and they have turned against me.
My people left me.
They offered sacrifices to other gods.
They worshiped idols that they had made
with their own hands.
17 “As for you, Jeremiah, get ready.
Stand up and speak to the people.
Tell them everything that I tell you to say.
Don’t be afraid of the people.
If you are afraid of the people,
then I will give you good reason
to be afraid of them.
18 As for me, today I will make you
like a strong city,
an iron column,
a bronze wall.
You will be able to stand
against everyone in the land,
against the kings of the land of Judah,
against the leaders of Judah,
against the priests of Judah,
and against the people of the land
of Judah.
19 All those people will fight against you,
but they will not defeat you.
Why? Because I am with you,
and I will save you.”
This message is from the Lord.
Judah Was Not Faithful
2The Lord’s message came to Jeremiah.
This message was from the Lord:
2“Jeremiah, go and speak to the people of
Jerusalem. Say to them:
854
“‘At the time you were a young nation,
you were faithful to me.
You followed me like a young bride.
You followed me through the desert,
through a land that had never been used
for farm land.
3 The people of Israel were a holy gift
to the Lord.
They were the first fruit to be gathered
by the Lord.
Any people that tried to hurt them
were judged guilty.
Bad things happened to those
wicked people.’”
This message was from the Lord.
4 Family of Jacob, hear the Lord’s message.
Family groups of Israel, hear the message.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Do you think that I was not fair
to your ancestors*?
Is that why they turned away from me?
Your ancestors worshiped worthless idols,
and they became worthless themselves.
6 Your ancestors did not say,
‘The Lord brought us from Egypt.
The Lord led us through the desert.
The Lord led us through a dry
and rocky land.
The Lord led us through a dark
and dangerous land.
No people live there.
People don’t even travel through
that land.
But the Lord led us through that land.
So where is the Lord now?’
7 {The Lord says,}
“I brought you into a good land,
a land filled with many good things.
I did this so you could eat the fruit and crops
that grow there.
But you only made my land ‘dirty.’
I gave that land to you,
but you made it a bad place.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.

8 “The priests did not ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
The people that know the law
did not want to know me.
The leaders of the people of Israel
turned against me.
The prophets prophesied* in the name
of the false god Baal.*
They worshiped worthless idols.”
9 The Lord says,
“So now I will accuse you again,
And I will also accuse
your grandchildren.
10 Go across the sea to the Islands
of Kittim.*
Send someone to the land of Kedar.*
Look very carefully.
See if any person has ever done
something like this.
11 Has any nation ever stopped worshiping
their old gods so they could worship
new gods?
No! And their gods are not really gods at all!
But my people
stopped worshiping their glorious God
and started worshiping idols
that are worth nothing.
12 “Skies, be shocked at the things
that have happened!
Shake with great fear!”
This message was from the Lord.
13 “My people have done two evil things.
They turned away from me
(I am the spring of living water),
and they dug their own water cisterns.
(They turned to other gods.)
But their cisterns are broken.
Those cisterns can’t hold water.
prophesied Or, “spoke.”
Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought
the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land
produce good crops.
Islands of Kittim The name means the Island of Cyprus. But
the name was often used for the other islands and coastlands
of the Mediterranean Sea.
Kedar This was the name of an Arabian family group that lived
in the desert to the east of Palestine.
855 JEREMIAH 2:8–21
14 “Have the people of Israel become slaves?
Have they become like a person
that was born a slave?
Why did people take the wealth
from the people of Israel?
15 Young lions’ (enemies) roar at Israel.
The lions growl.
Lions have destroyed the land of Israel.
The cities of Israel have been burned.
There are no people left in them.
16 People from Memphis and Tahpanhes*
have smashed the top of your head.
17 This trouble is your own fault!
The Lord your God
was leading you the right way,*
but you turned away from him.
18 People of Judah, think about this:
Did it help to go to Egypt?
Did it help to drink
from the Nile River? No!
Did it help to go to Assyria?
Did it help to drink from
the Euphrates River? No!
19 You did bad things,
and those bad things will only
bring punishment to you.
Trouble will come to you.
And that trouble will teach you a lesson.
Think about it!
Then you will understand how bad it is
to turn away from your God.
It is wrong not to fear and respect me!”
This message was from my Master,
the Lord All-Powerful.
20 “Judah, a long time ago you threw off
your yoke.
You broke the ropes
{that I used to control you}.
You said to me,
‘I will not serve you!’
You were like a prostitute
on every high hill
and under every green tree.*
21 Judah, I planted you like a special vine.
All of you were like good seed.
Memphis and Tahpanhes Two cities in Egypt.
was leading … way This line is not in the Greek translation.
prostitute … green tree This means the people worshiped their
false gods in these places.

JEREMIAH 2:22–36
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23
24
25
How did you turn into a different vine that
grows bad fruit?
Even if you wash yourself with lye,*
even if you use much soap,
I can still see your guilt.”
This message was from the Lord God.
“Judah, how can you say to me,
‘I am not guilty;
I have not worshiped the Baal* idols’?
Think about the things you did in the valley.
Think about what you have done.
You are like a fast she-camel
that runs from place to place.
You are like a wild donkey
that lives in the desert.
At mating time, she sniffs (smells)
the wind.
No person can bring her back
at the time she is in heat.
At mating time, every male that wants her
will get her.
It is easy to find her.
Judah, stop chasing after idols!
Stop being thirsty for those other gods.
But you say, ‘It is no use! I can’t quit!
I love those other gods.
I want to worship them.’
29
30
31
32
Let’s see if those idols come
and save you when you are in trouble.
Judah, you have as many idols as cities!
“Why do you argue with me?
All of you have turned against me.”
This message was from the Lord.
“I punished you people of Judah,
but it did not help.
You did not come back when you
were punished.
You killed with your swords the prophets
that came to you.
You were like a dangerous lion and you
killed the prophets.”
People of this generation, pay attention
to the Lord’s message!
“Have I been like a desert
to the people of Israel?
Have I been like a dark and dangerous land
to them?
My people say,
‘We are free to go our own way.
We will not come back to you, Lord!’
Why do they say those things?
A young woman doesn’t forget
her jewelry.
A bride doesn’t forget the sash for her dress.
But my people have forgotten me
too many times to count.
26 “A thief is ashamed when people catch him.
In the same way,
the people of Israel are ashamed,
the kings and leaders are ashamed,
and the priests and prophets are ashamed.
27 Those people talk to pieces of wood!
They say, ‘You are my father.’
Those people speak to a rock.
They say, ‘You gave birth to me.’
All those people will be ashamed.
Those people don’t look at me.
They have turned their backs to me.
But when the people of Judah
get into trouble, they say to me,
‘Come and save us!’
28 Let those idols come and save you!
Where are the idols
that you have made for yourselves?
lye A chemical that is used like soap.
Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought
the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land
produce good crops.
33 “Judah, you really know how
to chase after lovers (false gods).
You have really learned to do evil things.
34 You have blood on your hands!
It is the blood of the poor,
innocent people.
You did not catch those people
breaking into your house!
You killed them for no reason!
35 But still, you say,
‘I am innocent.
God is not angry with me.’
So I will also judge you guilty {of lying}.
Why? Because you say,
‘I have done nothing wrong.’
36 It is so easy for you to change your mind.
Assyria disappointed you,
{so you left Assyria
and went to Egypt for help.}
But Egypt will also disappoint you.

857 JEREMIAH 2:37–3:13
37 So you will eventually leave Egypt, too. The Two Bad Sisters: Israel and Judah
And you will hide your face in shame.
You trusted those countries.
But the Lord rejected those countries,
6The Lord spoke to me during the time
King Josiah was ruling the nation of Judah.
The Lord said: “Jeremiah, you saw the bad
so they can’t help you win.
3 “If a man divorces his wife,
and she leaves him
and marries another man,
can that man come back
to his wife again?
No! If that man went back to that woman,*
then that land would become ‘dirty.’
Judah, you acted like a prostitute
with many lovers (false gods).
And now you want to come back to me!”
This message was from the Lord.
2 “Look up to the bare hilltops, Judah.
Is there any place where you have not
had sex with your lovers (false gods)?
You have sat by the road waiting for lovers,
like an Arab waiting in the desert.
You made the land ‘dirty’!
How? You did many bad things
and you were unfaithful to me.
3 You sinned, so the rain has not come.
There have not been any springtime rains.
But still you refuse to be ashamed.
The look on your face is like the look
that a prostitute has when she
refuses to be ashamed.
You refuse to be ashamed of what
you did.
4 But now you are calling me, ‘Father.’
You said,
‘You have been my friend
since I was a child.’
5 You also said,
‘God will not always be angry at me.
God’s anger will not continue forever.’
things that Israel* did? You saw how she was
unfaithful to me. She did the sin of adultery
with idols on every hill and under every green
tree.
“Judah, you say those things,
but you do as much evil as you can.”
7I said to myself, ‘Israel will come back
to me after she has finished doing these evil
things.’ But she did not come back to me.
And Israel’s unfaithful sister, Judah, saw what
she did. 8Israel was unfaithful and Israel knew
why I sent her away. Israel knew that I
divorced her because she did the sin of
adultery. But that did not make her unfaithful
sister afraid. Judah, was not afraid. Judah also
went out and acted like a prostitute. 9Judah
did not care that she was acting like a
prostitute. So she made her country ‘dirty.’
She did the sin of adultery by worshiping
idols made out of stone and wood. 10Israel’s
unfaithful sister (Judah) did not come back to
me with her whole heart. She only pretended
that she came back to me.” This message was
from the Lord.
11The Lord said to me, “Israel was not
faithful to me. But she had a better excuse
than unfaithful Judah. 12Jeremiah, look
toward the north and speak this message:
‘Come back, you faithless people of Israel.’
This message was from the Lord.
‘I will stop frowning at you.
I am full of mercy.’
This message was from the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.
13 But you must recognize your sin.
You turned against the Lord your God.
That is your sin.
You worshiped the idols of people
from other nations.
You worshiped those idols
under every green tree.
You did not obey me.’”
This message was from the Lord.
If that man went back to that woman It was against the law
of Moses for a man to marry a woman he had divorced if that
woman had become another man’s wife. It was against the
law for that man to marry her again even if her second
husband divorced her or died. See Deut. 24:1–4.
Israel Here the name Israel means the northern kingdom of
Israel. Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians about 100 years
before Jeremiah’s time.

JEREMIAH 3:14–4:3
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14“You people are unfaithful. But Come
back to me!” This message was from the Lord.
“I am your Master. I will take one person
from every city and two people from every
family and bring you to Zion.* 15Then I will
give you new rulers. Those rulers will be
faithful to me. They will lead you with
knowledge and understanding. 16In those
days, there will be many of you in the land.”
This message is from the Lord.
“At that time, people will never again say, ‘I
remember the days when we had the Box of
the Lord’s Agreement.’* They won’t even
think about the Holy Box anymore. They
won’t even remember or miss it. They will
never make another Holy Box. 17At that time,
the city of Jerusalem will be called the ‘Lord’s
Throne.’ All nations will come together in the
city of Jerusalem to give honor to the name of
the Lord. They won’t follow their stubborn,
evil hearts anymore. 18In those days, the
family of Judah will join the family of Israel.
They will come together from a land in the
north. They will come to the land I gave to
their ancestors.*
22
23
24
25
{The Lord also said,}
“People of Israel, you are unfaithful to me.
But come back to me!
Come back and I will forgive* you
for being unfaithful to me.”
{The people should say,}
“Yes, we will come to you.
You are the Lord our God.
It was foolish to worship idols on the hills.
All the loud parties on the mountains
were wrong.
Surely the salvation of Israel
comes from the Lord our God.
That terrible false god Baal has eaten
everything our fathers owned.
This has happened since we were children.
That terrible false god took
our fathers’ sheep and cattle,
and their sons and daughters.
Let us lie down in our shame.
Let our shame cover us like a blanket.
We have sinned against the Lord our God.
We and our fathers have sinned.
We have not obeyed the Lord our God
19
20
21
“I, the Lord, said to myself,
‘I want to treat you like my own children.
I want to give you a pleasant land,
a land more beautiful
than any other nation.’
I thought that you would call me ‘Father.’
I thought that you would always follow me.
But you have been like a woman
that is unfaithful to her husband.
Family of Israel, you have been
unfaithful to me!”
This message was from the Lord.
You can hear crying on the bare hills.
The people of Israel are crying
and praying for mercy.
They became very evil.
They forgot the Lord their God.
from the time we were children.”
This message is from the Lord.
4 “Israel, if you want to come back,
then come back to me.
Throw away your idols.
Don’t wander away from me.
2 If you do those things,
then you will be able to use my name
to make a promise:
You will be able to say,
‘As the Lord lives.’
And you will be able to use those words
in a truthful, honest, and right way.
If you do these things, then the nations
will be blessed by the Lord.
They will brag about the things
that the Lord has done.”
3This is what the Lord says to the man of
Judah and to Jerusalem:
“Your fields have not been plowed.
Plow those fields!
Don’t plant seeds among the thorns.
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.
Box of the Lord’s Agreement The box containing the stone
tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them and the
other things that proved God was with the people of Israel
during their time in the Sinai Desert. Also called “The Ark of
the Covenant.”
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. forgive Literally, “heal.”

4 Become the Lord’s people.
Change your hearts!*
Men of Judah and people of Jerusalem,
if you don’t change,
then I will become very angry.
My anger will spread fast like a fire,
and my anger will burn you up.
And no person will be able to put out
that fire.
Why will this happen?
Because of the evil things you
have done.”
Disaster from the North
5“Give this message to the people of Judah:
Tell every person in the city of Jerusalem,
‘blow the trumpet all over the country.’
Shout out loud and say,
‘Come together!
Let us all escape to the strong cities
for protection.’
6 Raise the signal flag toward Zion.*
Run for your lives!
Don’t wait!
Do this because I am bringing disaster
from the north.*
I am bringing terrible destruction.”
7 A lion has come out of his cave.
A destroyer of nations has begun
to march.
He has left his home
to destroy your land.
Your towns will be destroyed.
There will be no people left to live
in them.
8 So put on sackcloth* and cry out loud!
Why? Because the Lord is angry at us.”
Change your hearts Literally, “Be circumcised to the Lord.
Cut away the foreskin of your hearts.” A man cut away the
foreskin from his sex organ to show he was becoming one of
God’s people. Jeremiah is saying that the real circumcision
must be from inside a person’s heart (mind).
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.
north The Babylonian army came from this direction to attack
Judah. Armies from countries north and east of Israel often
came this way to attack Judah and Israel.
sackcloth A kind of cloth that people wore to show they were
sad or crying for dead people.
859 JEREMIAH 4:4–16
9 The Lord says,
“At the time this happens,
the king and his officers
will lose their courage,
the priests will be scared,
the prophets will be shocked.”
10Then I, Jeremiah, said, “Lord my Master,
you have really tricked the people of Judah
and Jerusalem. You said to them, ‘You will
have peace.’ But now the sword is pointing at
their throats!”
11 At that time a message will be given
to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“A hot wind blows from the bare hills.
It comes from the desert to my people.
It is not like the gentle wind that farmers use
to separate the grain from the chaff.*
12 It is a stronger wind than that,
and it comes from me.
Now, I will announce my judgment
against the people of Judah.”
13 Look! The enemy rises up like a cloud.
His chariots* look like a wind storm.
His horses are faster than eagles.
It will be very bad for us!
We are ruined!
14 People of Jerusalem, wash the evil
from your hearts.
Make your hearts pure so you can be saved.
Don’t continue making evil plans.
15 Listen! The voice of a messenger
from the land of Dan* is speaking.
A person is bringing bad news
from the hill country of Ephraim.*
16 “Report it to this nation.*
Spread the news to the people
in Jerusalem.
chaff The seed coverings and stems separated from the seeds of
plants like wheat or barley. Farmers saved the seeds but let the
wind blow the useless chaff away.
chariot(s) A small wagon used in war.
land of Dan The people from the family group of Dan lived
near the border in the northern part of Israel. They would be
the first to be attacked by an enemy from the north.
hill country of Ephraim This was the central part of the land
that had been the northern kingdom of Israel.
“Report … nation The Hebrew is hard to understand here.

JEREMIAH 4:17–31
Enemies are coming from a
faraway country.
Those enemies are shouting words of war
against the cities of Judah.
17 The enemy has surrounded Jerusalem
like men guarding a field.
Judah, you turned against me!
So the enemy is coming against you!”
This message is from the Lord.
18 “The way you lived and the things you did
brought this trouble to you.
It is your evil that made your life so hard.
Your evil life brought the pain
that hurts deep in your heart.”
Jeremiah’s Cry
19 Oh, my sadness and worry is making
my stomach hurt.
I am bent over in pain.
Oh, I am so scared.
My heart is pounding inside me.
I can’t keep quiet. Why?
Because I have heard the trumpet blow.
The trumpet is calling the army to war!
20 Disaster follows disaster!
The whole country is destroyed!
Suddenly my tents are destroyed!
My curtains are torn down!
21 Lord, how long must I see the war flags?
How long must I hear the war trumpets?
22 {God said,} “My people are foolish.
They don’t know me.
They are stupid children.
They don’t understand.
They are skillful at doing evil,
but they don’t know how to do good.”
Disaster Is Coming
23 I looked at the earth.
The earth was empty;
nothing was on the earth.
I looked at the sky.
and its light was gone.*
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were shaking.
All of the hills were trembling.
The earth … gone Jeremiah is comparing his country to the
time before people were put on the earth. See Gen. 1:1.
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25 I looked, but there were no people.
All the birds of the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the good land
had become a desert.
All the cities in that land were destroyed.
The Lord caused this.
The Lord and his great anger caused this.
27 The Lord says these things:
“The whole country will be ruined.
(But I will not completely destroy the land.)
28 So the people in the land will cry
for the dead people.
The sky will grow dark.
I have spoken and will not change.
I have made a decision
and I will not change my mind.”
29 The people of Judah will hear the sound
of the horse soldiers and the archers,*
and the people will run away!
Some of the people will hide in caves,*
some people will hide in the bushes,
some people will climb up into the rocks.
All of the cities of Judah will be empty.
No person will live in them.
30 Judah, you have been destroyed.
So what are you doing now?
Why are you putting on your best red dress?
Why are you putting on your gold
jewelry?
Why are you putting on your eye makeup?
You make yourself beautiful,
but it is a waste of time.
Your lovers hate you.
They are trying to kill you.
31 I hear a cry like a woman having a baby.
It is a scream like a woman
that is having her first baby.
It is the cry of the Daughter of Zion.*
She is lifting her hands in prayer, saying,
“Oh! I am about to faint!
Murderers are all around me!”
archers Soldiers that use bows and arrows in war.
hide in caves This line is from the ancient Greek translation.
The Hebrew text does not have this line.
Daughter of Zion A name for the city of Jerusalem.

861 JEREMIAH 5:1–14
The Evil of the People of Judah
5The Lord says,} “Walk the streets of
Jerusalem. Look around and think about
these things. Search the public squares of the
city. See if you can find one good person, one
person that does honest things, one that
searches for the truth. If you find one good
person, I will forgive Jerusalem! 2The people
8
Your children have abandoned me.
They made promises to idols
And those idols are not really gods!
I gave your children everything they needed.
But they still were unfaithful to me!
They spent much time with prostitutes.
They are like horses
that have had plenty to eat
make promises and say, ‘As the Lord lives.’ and are ready to mate.
But they don’t really mean it.”
They are like a horse that is
3 Lord, I know that you want people
to be loyal to you.
You hit the people of Judah,
but they did not feel any pain.
You destroyed them,
but they refused to learn their lesson.
They became very stubborn.
They refused to be sorry
9
calling its neighbor’s wife.
Should I punish the people of Judah
for doing these things?”
This message is from the Lord.
“Yes! You know I should punish a nation
that lives like that.
I will give them the punishment
that they deserve.
for the bad things they did.
10 “Go along the rows of Judah’s grapevines.
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5
But I (Jeremiah) said to myself,
“It must be only the poor people
that are so foolish.
Poor people have not learned
the way of the Lord.
Poor people don’t know
the teachings of their God.
So I will go to the leaders of Judah.
11
Cut down the vines.
(But don’t completely destroy them.)
Cut off all their branches.
Why? Because they don’t belong
to the Lord.
The family of Israel and the family of Judah
have been unfaithful to me in every way.”
This message is from the Lord.
6
I will talk to them.
Surely the leaders know the way
of the Lord.
Iamsure they know the law
of their God.”
But the leaders had all joined together
to break away from serving the Lord.
They turned against God,
so a lion from the forest will attack them.
A wolf from the desert will kill them.
A leopard is hiding near their cities.
The leopard will tear to pieces
any person that comes out of the city.
This will happen because the people
of Judah have sinned again and again.
They have wandered away from the Lord
many times.
12
13
14
“Those people have lied about the Lord.
They have said,
‘The Lord will not do anything to us.
Nothing bad will happen to us.
We will never see an army attack us.
We will never starve.’
“The {false} prophets are only empty wind.*
The word of God is not in them.*
Bad things will happen to them.”
The Lord God All-Powerful said
these things:
“Those people said I would not punish them.
So Jeremiah, the words I give you
will be like fire.
And those people will be like wood.
That fire will burn them up completely!
7 {God said,}
“Judah, give me one good reason
why I should forgive you.
wind This is a word play. The Hebrew word for wind is like the
word for Spirit.
The word … them Literally, “and the ‘He said’ is not in them.”

JEREMIAH 5:15–29
15 Family of Israel, this message
is from the Lord,
“I will soon bring a nation from far away
to attack you.
It is an old nation.
It is an ancient nation.
The people of that nation speak a language
that you don’t know.
You can’t understand what they say.
16 Their arrow bags are like open graves.
All of their men are strong soldiers.
17 Those soldiers will eat all the crops
that you gathered.
They will eat all of your food.
They will eat (destroy) your sons
and daughters.
They will eat your flocks and your herds.
They will eat your grapes and your figs.
They will destroy your strong cities
with their swords.
They will destroy the strong cities
that you trust in!
18 This message is from the Lord,
“But Judah, when those terrible days come,
I will not fully destroy you.
19 The people of Judah will ask you,
‘Jeremiah, why has the Lord our God
done this bad thing to us?’
Give them this answer:
‘You people of Judah have left the Lord,
and you have served foreign idols
in your own land.
You did those things, so now
you will serve foreigners in a land
that doesn’t belong to you.’”
20 {The Lord said,}
“Tell this message to the family of Jacob.
Tell this message in the nation of Judah:
21 Hear this message.
You foolish people have no sense:
‘You have eyes, but you don’t see!
You have ears, but you don’t listen!’
22 Surely you are afraid of me.’”
This message is from the Lord.
“You should shake with fear
in front of me.
I am the One who made the beaches
to be a boundary for the sea.
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I made it that way to keep the water
in its place forever.
The waves may pound the beach,
but they will not destroy it.
The waves may roar as they come in,
but they can’t go beyond the beach.
23 But the people of Judah are stubborn.
They are always planning ways
to turn against me.
They turned away from me
and left me.
24 The people of Judah never say
to themselves,
‘Let’s fear and respect the Lord our God.
He gives us autumn and spring rains
at just the right time.
He makes sure that we have the harvest
at just the right time.’
25 People of Judah, you have done wrong.
So the rains and the harvest
have not come.
Your sins have kept you from enjoying
those good things from the Lord.
26 There are evil men among my people.
Those evil men are like men
that make nets for catching birds.*
These men set their traps,
But they catch men instead of birds.
27 The houses of these evil men are full of lies,
like a cage full of birds.
Their lies made them rich and powerful.
28 They have grown big and fat
{from the evil things they have done}.
There is no end to the evil things they do.
They will not plead the case
of children that have no parents.
They will not help those orphans.
They will not let poor people
be judged fairly.
29 Should I punish the people of Judah
for doing these things?”
This message is from the Lord.
“You know that I should punish a nation
such as this.
I should give them the punishment
that they deserve.”
men … birds The Hebrew is hard to understand here.

6
30 {The Lord says,}
“A terrible and shocking thing
has happened in the land of Judah.
31 The prophets tell lies.
The priests will not do
what they were chosen to do.*
And my people love it this way!
But what will you people do
when your punishment comes?”
The Enemy Surrounds Jerusalem
Run for your lives, people of Benjamin!
Run away from the city of Jerusalem!
Blow the war trumpet in the city of Tekoa!
Put up the warning flag
in the city of Beth Hakkerem!
Do these things because disaster is
coming from the north.*
Terrible destruction is coming to you.
2 Daughter of Zion,* you are like
a beautiful meadow.*
3 Shepherds come to Jerusalem,
and they bring their flocks.
They set up their tents all around her.
Each shepherd takes care
of his own flock.
4 “Get ready to fight against Jerusalem.
Get up! We will attack the city at noon.
But it is already getting late.
The evening shadows are growing long.
5 So get up! We will attack the city at night!
Let’s destroy the strong walls
that are around Jerusalem.”
6 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Cut down the trees around Jerusalem.
And build a siege mound* against it.
This city should be punished.
Inside this city is nothing but oppression.
priests … were chosen to do The Hebrew is hard to understand
here.
north This refers to the army of Babylon coming from the north
to attack the nation of Judah.
Daughter of Zion A name for the city of Jerusalem.
you are like a beautiful meadow The Hebrew is hard to
understand here.
siege mound A large pile of dirt and rock that an army put
against the wall of a city they were attacking. This made it
easier for the enemy soldiers to climb over the wall into
the city.
863 JEREMIAH 5:30–6:13
7
8
A well keeps its water fresh.
In the same way,
Jerusalem keeps its wickedness fresh.
I hear about the looting and violence
in this city all the time.
I see the pain and sickness in Jerusalem
all the time.
Listen to this warning, Jerusalem.
If you don’t listen
then I will turn my back on you.
I will make your land an empty desert.
No person will be able to live there.”
9 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Gather* the people of Israel
that were left on their land.
Gather them the way you would gather
the last grapes on a grapevine.
Check each vine, like a worker checks
each vine when he picks the grapes.”
10 Who can I speak to?
Who can I warn?
Who will listen to me?
The people of Israel have closed their ears,
so they can’t hear my warnings.
The people don’t like the Lord’s teachings.
They don’t want to hear his message.
11 But I (Jeremiah) am full of the Lord’s anger!
I am tired of holding it in!
“Pour out the Lord’s anger on the children
that play in the street.
Pour out the Lord’s anger on the young men
that gather together.
A man and his wife will both be captured.
All the old people will be captured.
12 Their houses will be given to other people.
Their fields and their wives
will be given to other people.
I will raise my hand and punish
the people of Judah.”
This message was from the Lord.
13 “All the people of Israel want
more and more money.
All the people, from the least important
to the most important people,
are like that.
Gather Or “Glean.” Farmers were supposed to leave a little of
their grain and other crops in the field. In this way, poor
people and travelers could always find something to eat.
Gathering this leftover grain is called gleaning.

JEREMIAH 6:14–26
All the people,
from prophets to priests
tell lies.
14 My people have been hurt very badly.
The prophets and priests
should bandage those wounds.
But they treat those wounds
like they are only a small scratch.
They say,
‘It is all right, everything is fine!’
But it is not all right!
15 The priests and prophets should
be ashamed
of the bad things they do.
But they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t know enough
to be embarrassed of their sins.
So they will be punished with everyone else.
They will be thrown to the ground
when I punish the people.”
The Lord said those things.
16 The Lord says these things:
“Stand at the crossroads and look.
Ask where the old road is.
Ask where the good road is,
and walk on that road.
If you do, you will find rest for yourselves.
But you people have said,
‘We will not walk on the good road!’
17 I chose watchmen to watch over you.
I told them,
‘Listen for the sound of the
war trumpet.’
But they said,
‘We will not listen!’
18 So, listen, all you nations!
Pay attention, you people in those
countries!*
19 Hear this, people of the earth.
I am going to bring disaster
to the people of Judah.
Why? Because of all the bad things
that those people planned.
And because they ignored my messages.
Those people refused to obey my law.”
Pay … countries The Hebrew is hard to understand here.
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20 {The Lord says,}
“Why do you bring me incense*
from the country of Sheba?*
Why do you bring me sweet-smelling
cane from a far away country?
Your burnt offerings don’t make
me happy.
Your sacrifices don’t please me.”
21 So, this is what the Lord says:
“I will give the people of Judah problems.
They will be like stones
that make people fall.
Fathers and sons will stumble over them.
Friends and neighbors will die.”
22 This is what the Lord says:
“An army is coming from the north.*
A great nation is coming from
faraway places on earth.
23 The soldiers carry bows and spears.
They are cruel.
They have no mercy.
They are so powerful.
They sound like the roaring ocean
as they ride their horses.
That army is coming ready for battle.
That army is coming to attack you,
Daughter of Zion.”*
24 We have heard the news about that army.
We are helpless from fear.
We feel trapped by our troubles.
We are like a woman that is having
a baby.
25 Don’t go out into the fields.
Don’t go on the roads.
Why? Because the enemy has swords
and there is danger everywhere.
26 My people, put on sackcloth*,
and roll in the ashes.*
incense Special dried tree sap. Burned to make a sweetsmelling
smoke, it was offered as a gift to God.
Sheba A land south of Israel, located where part of Saudi
Arabia is today. Sheba controlled the spice trade in the time of
Jeremiah.
north This refers to the army of Babylon coming from the north
to attack the nation of Judah.
Daughter of Zion A name for the city of Jerusalem.
sackcloth A kind of cloth that people wore to show they were
sad or crying for dead people.
roll in the ashes This is one way people showed that they were
sad or crying for a dead person.

Cry loud for the dead people.
Cry like you lost an only son.
Do these things because the destroyer
will come against us very quickly.
27 “Jeremiah, I (the Lord) made you
like a worker that tests metals.
You will test my people
and watch how they live.
28 My people have turned against me,
and they are very stubborn.
They say bad things about people.
They are like bronze and iron,
that are covered with rust and tarnish.
29 {They are like a worker
that tried to make silver pure.}
The bellows* blew strongly
{and the fire became hotter}.
But only lead came from the fire!*
The worker wasted his time
trying to make that silver pure.
In the same way, the evil was not removed
{from my people}.
30 My people will be called, ‘Rejected Silver.’
They will be given that name
because the Lord did not accept them.”
Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon
7This is the Lord’s message to Jeremiah:
2Jeremiah, stand at the gate of the Lord’s
house. Preach this message at the gate:
“Hear the message from the Lord, all you
people of the nation of Judah. All you people
that come through these gates to worship the
Lord, hear this message. 3The Lord is the
God of the people of Israel. This is what the
Lord All-Powerful says: ‘Change your lives
and do good things. If you do this, I will let
you live in this place.* 4Don’t trust the lies
that some people say. They say, “This is the
temple* of the Lord, the temple of the Lord,
bellows A tool for blowing air on a fire to make the fire hotter.
lead came from the fire Workers melted metals like silver to
make the metals pure. Lead was the first metal to melt, so the
workers poured the lead out, leaving the other metal pure.
Here Jeremiah is saying the people are all bad—they are all
lead and no silver!
I will … place This can also mean, “I will live with you.”
temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.
865 JEREMIAH 6:27–7:14
the temple of the Lord*!” 5If you change
your lives and do good things, I will let you
live in this place. You must be fair to each
other. 6You must be fair to strangers. You
must do the right things for widows and
orphans.* Don’t kill innocent people! Don’t
follow other gods! Why? Because they will
ruin your lives. 7If you obey me, I will let
you live in this place. I gave this land to your
ancestors* for them to keep forever.
8“‘But you are trusting lies. And those lies
are worthless. 9Will you steal and murder?
Will you do the sin of adultery*? Will you
falsely accuse other people? Will you worship
the false god Baal* and follow other gods that
you have not known? 10If you do those sins,
do you think that you can stand before me in
this house that is called by my name? Do you
think you can stand before me and say, “We
are safe,” just so you can do all these terrible
things? 11This temple* is called by my name!
Is this temple nothing more to you than a
hideout for robbers? I have been watching
you.’” This message is from the Lord.
12“You people of Judah, go now to the
town of Shiloh. Go to the place where I first
made a house for my name. The people of
Israel also did evil things. Go and see what I
did to that place because of the evil things
they did.* 13You people of Israel were doing
all these evil things”—This message is from
the Lord!—“I spoke to you again and again,
but you refused to listen to me. I called to
you, but you did not answer. 14So I will
destroy the house called by my name in
Jerusalem. I will destroy that temple* like I
This is … Lord Many people in Jerusalem thought that the
Lord would always protect Jerusalem because his temple was
there. They thought God would protect Jerusalem, no matter
how evil the people where.
widows and orphans Widows are women whose husbands
have died, and orphans are children whose parents have died.
Often these people have no one to care for them.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
adultery Breaking the marriage promise by sexual sin.
Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought
the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land
produce good crops.
Go … they did Shiloh was probably destroyed by the
Philistines in the time of Eli and Samuel. See 1 Sam. 4.

JEREMIAH 7:15–32
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destroyed Shiloh. And that house in Jerusalem
that is called by my name is the temple that
you trust in. I gave that place to you and to
your ancestors. 15I will throw you away from
me just like I threw away all your brothers
from Ephraim.*
16“As for you, Jeremiah, don’t pray for
these people of Judah. Don’t beg for them or
pray for them. Don’t beg for me to help them.
I will not listen to your prayer for them. 17I
know you see what those people are doing in
the towns of Judah. You can see what they are
doing in the streets of the city of Jerusalem.
18This is what the people of Judah are doing:
The children gather wood. The fathers use the
wood to make a fire. The women make the
dough and make cakes of bread to offer to the
Queen of Heaven.* Those people of Judah
pour out drink offerings to worship other
gods. They do this to make me angry. 19But I
am not the one the people of Judah are really
hurting.” This message is from the Lord.
“They are only hurting themselves. They are
bringing shame on themselves.”
20So the Lord says this: “I will show my
anger against this place. I will punish people
and animals. I will punish the trees in the field
and the crops that grow in the ground. My
anger will be like a hot fire—and no person
will be able to stop it.”
The Lord Wants Obedience More
than Sacrifice
21The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel,
says these things: “Go and offer as many burnt
offerings and sacrifices as you want. Eat the
meat of those sacrifices yourselves. 22I brought
your ancestors* out of Egypt. I spoke to them,
but I did not give them any commands about
burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23I
God, and you will be my people. Do all that I
command, and good things will happen to you.
24“But your ancestors* did not listen to me.
They did not pay attention to me. They were
stubborn and did the things they wanted to do.
They did not become good. They became
even more evil—they went backward, not
forward.
only gave them
this command: ‘Obey me and I will be your
25From the day that your ancestors
left Egypt to this day, I have sent my servants
to you. My servants are the prophets. I sent
them to you again and again. 26But your
ancestors did not listen to me. They did not
pay attention to me. They were very stubborn
and did evil worse than their fathers.
27“Jeremiah, you will tell these things to the
people of Judah. But they won’t listen to you!
You call to them, but they won’t answer you.
28So you must tell them these things: This is
the nation that did not obey the Lord its God.
These people did not listen to God’s teachings.
These people don’t know the true teachings.
The Valley of Slaughter
29“Jeremiah, cut off your hair and throw it
away.* Go up to the bare hilltop and cry.
Why? Because the Lord has rejected this
generation of people. The Lord has turned his
back on these people. And in anger, he will
punish them. 30Do this because I have seen
the people of Judah doing evil things.” This
message is from the Lord. “They have set up
their idols. And I hate those idols! They have
set up idols in the temple that is called by my
name. They have made my house ‘dirty’!
31The people of Judah have built the high
places* of Topheth in the Valley of Ben
Hinnom. In those places the people killed
their own sons and daughters—they burned
them as sacrifices. This is something I never
commanded. Something like this never even
entered my mind! 32So, I warn you. The days
are coming,” this message is from the Lord,
“when people won’t call this place Topheth or
the Valley of Ben Hinnom anymore. No, they
Ephraim This is the northern kingdom of Israel.
Queen of Heaven Probably the false god Astarte. She was the
goddess of sex and war. People in Mesopotamia worshiped
her. They thought she was the planet Venus, which looks like
a star in the sky.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
cut … away This showed Jeremiah was sad.
high places Special places where the people worshiped false
gods. These places were often on hilltops, but not always.
Some high places were in valleys.

will call it the Valley of Slaughter.* They will
give it this name because they will bury the
dead people in Topheth until there is no more
room to bury anyone else. 33Then the bodies
of the dead people will {lie on top of the
ground and} become food for the birds of the
sky. Wild animals will eat the bodies of those
people. There will be no person left alive to
chase the birds or animals away. 34I will bring
an end to the sounds of joy and happiness in
the towns of Judah and in the streets of
Jerusalem. There will be no more sounds of
the bride and bridegroom in Judah or
Jerusalem. The land will become an empty
desert.”
8This message is from the Lord: “At that
time, men will take the bones of the kings
and important rulers of Judah from their
tombs.* They will take the bones of the
priests and prophets from their tombs. They
will take the bones of all the people of
Jerusalem from their tombs. 2Those men will
spread those bones on the ground under the
sun, the moon, and the stars. The people of
Jerusalem love to worship the sun, the moon,
and the stars. No person will gather those
bones and bury them again. So, the bones of
those people will be like dung thrown on the
ground.
3“I will force the people of Judah to leave
their homes and their land. The people will be
taken away to foreign lands. Some of the
people of Judah that were not killed in the war
will wish that they had been killed.” This
message is from the Lord.
Sin and Punishment
4 Jeremiah, say this to the people of Judah:
The Lord says these things:
“You know if a man falls down,
he gets up again.
And if a man goes the wrong way,
he turns around and comes back.
Slaughter Usually, this word means to kill an animal and cut it
into pieces of meat. But it often means to kill people like they
are animals.
tomb(s) A grave dug in a wall of rock.
867 JEREMIAH 7:33–8:10
5 The people of Judah went (lived)
the wrong way.
But why do those people of Jerusalem
continue going the wrong way?
They believe their own lies.
They refuse to turn around and
come back.
6 I have listened to them very carefully.
But they don’t say what is right.
The people are not sorry for their sins.
The people don’t think about the bad
things they have done.
The people do things without thinking.
They are like horses running into a battle.
7 Even the birds in the sky
know the right time to do things.
The storks, doves, swifts, and thrushes
know when it is time to fly to a
new home.
But my people don’t know what the Lord
wants them to do.
8 “You keep saying,
‘We have the Lord’s teachings!
So we are wise!’
But that is not true.
Why? Because the scribes*
have lied with their pens.
9 Those ‘wise people’ refused to listen
to the Lord’s teachings.
So they are not really wise people at all.
Those ‘wise people’ were trapped.
They became shocked and ashamed.
10 So I will give their wives to other men.
I will give their fields to new owners.
All the people of Israel want
more and more money.
All the people,
from the least important
to most important people,
are like that.
All the people,
from prophets to priests,
tell lies.
scribes Men that wrote down and copied different writings.
Some of those writings included the books that later became
the Old Testament. Those men spent so much time with those
writings, that they often became experts at knowing what
those scriptures (writings) meant.

JEREMIAH 8:11–9:3
11 My people have been hurt very badly.
The prophets and priests
should bandage those wounds.
But they treat those wounds
like they are only a small scratch.
They say,
‘It is all right, everything is fine!’
But it is not all right!
12 They should be ashamed
of the bad things they do.
But they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t know enough
to be embarrassed of their sins.
So they will be punished with everyone else.
They will be thrown to the ground
when I punish the people.”
The Lord said those things.
13 “I will take away their fruit and crops,
so that there will be no harvest.”
This message is from the Lord.
“There will not be any grapes on the vine.
There will not be any figs on the fig tree.
Even the leaves will become dry and die.
I will take away the things I gave them.*
14 “Why are we just sitting here?
Come, let’s run to the strong cities.
If the Lord our God is going to make us die,
then let’s die there.
We have sinned against the Lord,
so God gave us poisoned water to drink.
15 We hoped to have peace,
but nothing good has come.
We hoped that he would forgive us,
but only disaster has come.
16 From the land of the family group of Dan,
we hear the snorting*
of the enemy’s horses.
The ground shakes from the pounding
of their hooves.*
They have come to destroy the land
and everything in it.
They have come to destroy the city
and all the people that live there.
I will take away … gave them The Hebrew of this line is hard
to understand.
snorting The sound that comes from breathing very hard
through the nose.
hooves The hard part of the feet of certain animals.
868
17 “People of Judah,
I am sending poisonous snakes*
to attack you.
Those snakes can’t be controlled.
Those snakes will bite you.”
This message is from the Lord.
18 God, I am very sad and afraid.
19 Listen to my people.
Everywhere in this country
people are crying for help.
They say,
“Is the Lord still at Zion*?
Is Zion’s King still there?”
{But God says,}
“The people of Judah worshiped
their worthless foreign idols.
That made me very angry!
Why did they do that?
20 {And the people say,}
“Harvest time is over. Summer is gone.
And still we have not been saved.”
9
21 My people are hurt,
so I am hurt.
I am too sad to speak.
22 Surely there is some medicine in Gilead.
Surely there is a doctor in Gilead.
So why are the hurts of my people
not healed?
If my head was filled with water,
and if my eyes were a fountain of tears,
I would cry day and night
for my people that have been destroyed.
2 If only I had a place in the desert,
a house where travelers spend the night,
I could leave my people.
I could go away from those people.
Why? Because they are all unfaithful
to God.
They have all turned against him.
3 “Those people use their tongues like a bow;
lies fly from their mouths like arrows.
poisonous snakes This probably means one of Judah’s enemies.
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.

Lies, not truth, have grown strong
in this land.
Those people go from one sin to another.
They don’t know me.”
The Lord said these things.
4 “Watch your neighbors!
Don’t trust your own brothers!
Why? Because every brother is a cheat.
Every neighbor talks behind your back.
5 Every person lies to his neighbor.
No person speaks the truth.
The people of Judah have taught
their tongues to lie.
They sinned until they were too tired
to come back.
6 One bad thing followed another.
And lies followed lies.
The people refused to know me.”
The Lord said those things.
7 So, the Lord All-Powerful says:
“A worker heats metal in a fire
to test if it is pure.
I will test the people of Judah like that.
I have no other choice.
My people have sinned.
8 The people of Judah have tongues
that are like sharp arrows.
Their mouths speak lies.
Each person speaks nice to his neighbor.
But he is secretly planning ways
to attack his neighbor.
9 I should punish the people of Judah.”
This message is from the Lord.
“You know that I should punish
that kind of people.
I should give them the punishment
that they deserve.”
10 I (Jeremiah) will cry loud for the mountains.
I will sing a funeral song
for the empty fields.
Why? Because the living things
were taken away.
No person travels there now.
The sounds of cattle can’t be heard there.
The birds have flown away
and the animals are gone.
11 “I (the Lord) will make the city of Jerusalem
a pile of garbage.
869 JEREMIAH 9:4–17
It will be a home for jackals.*
I will destroy the cities in the land of Judah,
so no one will live there.”
12 Is there a man that is wise enough to
understand these things?
Is there some person that has been
taught by the Lord?
Can anyone explain the Lord’s message?
Why was the land ruined?
Why was it made like an empty desert
where no people go?
13 The Lord answered these questions. He said,
“It is because the people of Judah quit
following my teachings.
I gave them my teachings,
but they refused to listen to me.
They did not follow my teachings.
14 The people of Judah lived their own way.
They were stubborn.
They followed the false god Baal.*
Their fathers taught them to follow
those false gods.”
15 So the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel, says,
“I will soon make the people of Judah
eat bitter food.
I will make them drink poisoned water.
16 I will scatter the people of Judah
through other nations.
They will live in strange nations.
They and their fathers never knew
about those countries.
I will send men with swords.
Those men will kill the people of Judah.
They will kill them until the people
are finished.”
17 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Now, think about these things!
Call for the women that get paid
to cry at funerals.
Send for the people that are good
at that job.
jackals A wild animal, like a dog. Those animals only live
where there are no people.
Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought
the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land
produce good crops.

JEREMIAH 9:18–10:5
18 {The people say,}
‘Let those women come quickly
and cry for us.
Then our eyes will fill with tears,
and streams of water will come
out of our eyes.’
19 “The sound of loud crying
is heard from Zion*:
‘We are truly ruined!
We are truly ashamed!
We must leave our land,
because our houses have been
destroyed.
Now our houses are only piles of rock.’”
20 Now, women of Judah,
listen to the message from the Lord.
Listen to the words from the Lord’s mouth.
{The Lord says,}
“Teach your daughters how to cry loud.
Each woman must learn to sing
this funeral song:
21 ‘Death has come.
Death climbed in through our windows.
Death came into our palaces.*
Death has come to our children
that play in the streets.
Death has come to the young men
that meet in the public places.’
22 “Jeremiah, say these things:
‘The Lord says,
Dead bodies will lie in the fields
like dung.
Their bodies will lie on the ground
like grain a farmer has cut.
But there will be no one to gather them.’”
23 The Lord says:
“Wise men must not brag
about their wisdom.
Strong men must not brag
about their strength.
Rich men must not brag
about their money.
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.
palace(s) A large house for the king and his family.
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24 But if someone wants to brag,
then let him brag about these things:
Let him brag that he learned to know me.
Let him brag that he understands
that I am the Lord
that I am kind and fair and
that I do good things on earth.
I love those things.”
This message is from the Lord.
25This message is from the Lord. “The time
is coming when I will punish all the people
that are circumcised* only in the body. 26I am
talking about the people of the nations of
Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all
the people that live in the desert. The men in
all those countries really were not circumcised
in their bodies. But the people from the family
of Israel were not circumcised in their hearts.”
10
The Lord and the Idols
Family of Israel, listen to the Lord!
2This is what the Lord says:
“Don’t live like people from other nations.
Don’t be afraid of special signs
in the sky.*
The other nations are afraid of the things
that they see in the sky.
But you must not be afraid of those things.
3 The customs of other people
are worth nothing.
Their idols are nothing but wood
from the forest.
Their idols are made by a worker
with his chisel.
4 They make their idols beautiful
with silver and gold.
They use hammers and nails
to fasten their idols down,
so they will not fall over.
5 The idols of the other nations are like
a scarecrow in a cucumber field.
circumcised To have the foreskin cut off. This was done to
every Jewish male to show he shared in the Agreement God
made with Israel. See Gen. 17:9–14.
special signs in the sky People believed that such things as
comets, meteors, or eclipses of the sun and moon could be
used to learn what was going to happen in the future.

Those idols can’t walk.
They can’t talk.
And the people must carry them.
So don’t be afraid of those idols.
They can’t hurt you.
And they can’t help you either!”
6 Lord, there is no one like you!
You are great!
Your name is great and powerful!
7 Every person should respect you, God.
You are the King of all the nations.
You deserve their respect.
There are many wise men among
the nations.
But none of those people are as wise
as you.
8 All the people of the other nations are
stupid and foolish.
Their teachings come from worthless
wooden statues.
9 They use silver from the city of Tarshish
and gold from the city of Uphaz
and make their statues.
Carpenters and metal-workers make
those idols.
They put blue and purple clothes on
those idols.
“Wise men” make those “gods.”
10 But the Lord is the only true God.
He is the only God who is truly alive.
He is the King that rules forever.
The earth shakes when God is angry.
The people of the nations can’t stop
his anger.
11 {The Lord says,}
“Tell this message to those people:
‘Those false gods did not make
heaven and earth.
And those false gods will be destroyed
and disappear from heaven
and earth.’”*
Tell this message … earth This part was written in Aramaic,
not Hebrew. This was the language people used often when
writing to people in other countries. It was also the language
spoken in Babylon.
871 JEREMIAH 10:6–18
12 God is the One who used his power
and made the earth.
God used his wisdom and built the world.
With his understanding,
God stretched out the sky {over the earth}.
13 God causes the loud thunder,
and he causes great floods of water to
fall from the sky.
He makes clouds rise in the sky every
place on earth.
He sends lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind from his
storehouses.
14 People are so stupid!
Metal workers are fooled by the idols
that they themselves made.
Those statues are nothing but lies.
They are stupid.*
15 Those idols are worth nothing.
They are something to make fun of.
In the time of judgment,
those idols will be destroyed.
16 But Jacob’s God* is not like those idols.
God made everything.
And Israel is the family that God chose
to be his own people.
God’s name is “Lord All-Powerful.”
Destruction Is Coming
17 Get everything you own and prepare
to leave.
You people of Judah are caught
in the city,
and the enemy is all around it.
18 The Lord says:
“This time, I will throw the people of Judah
out of this country.
I will bring pain and trouble to them.
I will do this so they will learn
their lesson.”*
They are stupid Literally, “they have no spirit.” The Bible
teaches that it is the Spirit of God that makes people wise.
This might also mean “they are not alive.”
Jacob’s God Literally, “Jacob’s share.” This shows that God
and Israel had a special relationship—God belonged to Israel,
and Israel belonged to God.”
they will learn their lesson The Hebrew here is hard to
understand.

JEREMIAH 10:19–11:10
19 Oh, I (Jeremiah) am hurt badly.
I am injured and I can’t be healed.
Yet I told myself,
“This is my sickness,
I must suffer through it.”
20 My tent is ruined.
All the tent’s ropes are broken.
My children left me.
They are gone.
No person is left to put up my tent.
No person is left to fix a shelter for me.
21 The shepherds (leaders) are stupid.
They don’t try to find the Lord.
They are not wise,
so their flocks (people) are scattered
and lost.
22 Listen! A loud noise!
The loud noise is coming
from the north.*
It will destroy the cities of Judah.
Judah will become an empty desert.
It will be a home for jackals.*
23 Lord, I know that a person does not really
own his life.
People don’t really know the right way
to live.
24 Lord, correct us!
But be fair!
Don’t punish us in anger!
25 If you are angry, then punish the other
nations.
They don’t know or respect you.
Those people don’t worship you.
Those nations destroyed Jacob’s family.
They destroyed Israel completely.
They destroyed Israel’s homeland.
The Agreement Is Broken
This is the message that came to
11 Jeremiah. This message came from the
Lord: 2“Jeremiah, listen to the words of this
Agreement.* Tell the people of Judah about
north This refers to the army of Babylon coming from the north
to attack the nation of Judah.
jackals A wild animal, like a dog. Those animals only live
where no people are.
Agreement Literally, “Proof.” The flat stones with the Ten
Commandments written on them were proof of the Agreement
between God and Israel.
872
these things. Tell these things to the people
living in Jerusalem. 3This is what the Lord, the
God of Israel, says: ‘Bad things will happen to
any person that does not obey this
Agreement.’ 4I am talking about the
Agreement I made with your ancestors.* I
made that Agreement with them at the time I
brought them out of Egypt. {Egypt was a place
of many troubles—}it was like an oven hot
enough to melt iron. I told those people: Obey
me and do everything I command you. If you
do this, you will be my people, and I will be
your God.
5“I did this to keep the promise that I had
made to your ancestors.* I promised to give
them a very fertile land—a land flowing with
milk and honey. And you are living in that
country today.”
I (Jeremiah) answered, “Amen,* Lord.”
6The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, preach
this message in the towns of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem. This is the message:
Listen to the words of this Agreement.* And
then obey those laws. 7I gave a warning to
your ancestors* at the time I brought them out
of the land of Egypt. I warned them again and
again to this very day. I told them to obey me.
8But your ancestors did not listen to me. They
were stubborn and did what their own evil
hearts wanted. The Agreement says that bad
things will happen to them if they don’t obey.
So I made all those bad things happen to them!
I commanded them to obey the Agreement,
but they did not.”
9The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, I know
that the people of Judah and the people living
in Jerusalem have made secret plans. 10Those
people are doing the same sins that their
ancestors did. Their ancestors* refused to
listen to my message. They followed and
worshiped other gods. The family of Israel
and the family of Judah have broken the
Agreement* I made with their ancestors.”
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
Amen The Hebrew word “amen” means, “truly,” or “indeed.” It
is used to show that the person agrees with what has
been said.

11So the Lord says: “I will soon make
something terrible happen to the people of
Judah. They will not be able to escape! They
will be sorry. And they will cry to me for help.
But I will not listen to them. 12The people in
the towns of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem
will go and pray to their idols for help. Those
people burn incense* to those idols. But those
idols will not be able to help the people of
Judah when that terrible time comes.
13“People of Judah, you have many idols—
there are as many idols as there are towns in
Judah. You have built many altars for
worshiping that disgusting god Baal*—there
are as many altars as there are streets in
Jerusalem.
14“As for you, Jeremiah, don’t pray for these
people of Judah. Don’t beg for them. Don’t say
prayers for them. I will not listen. Those people
will begin to suffer. And then they will call to
me for help. But I will not listen.
15* “Why is my lover (Judah)
in my house (temple)?
She has no right to be there.
She had done many evil things.
Judah, do you think that special promises
and animal sacrifices will stop you
from being destroyed?
Do you think you can escape punishment
by offering sacrifices to me?”
16 The Lord gave you a name.
He called you,
‘A green olive tree,
beautiful to look at.’
But with a strong storm,
the Lord will set that tree on fire,
and its branches will be burned up.
17 The Lord All-Powerful planted you.
And he said that disaster will come to you.
Why? Because the family of Israel
and the family of Judah
have done evil things.
incense Special dried tree sap. Burned to make a sweetsmelling
smoke, it was offered as a gift to God.
Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought
the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land
produce good crops.
Verses 15–16 We are not sure of the exact meaning of
verses 15–16.
873 JEREMIAH 11:11–12:2
They offered sacrifices to Baal.”*
And that made me angry!
Evil Plans Against Jeremiah
18The Lord showed me that the men of
Anathoth* were making plots against me.
The Lord showed me the things they were
doing, so I knew they were against me.
19Before the Lord showed me that the people
were against me, I was like a gentle lamb
waiting to be butchered. I did not understand
that they were against me. They were saying
these things about me: “Let us destroy the
tree and its fruit! Let us kill him! Then people
will forget him.” 20But Lord, you are a fair
judge. You know how to test peoples’ hearts
and minds. I will tell you my arguments. And
I will let you give them the punishment they
deserve.
21The men from Anathoth were planning to
kill Jeremiah. Those men said to Jeremiah,
“Don’t prophesy* in the name of the Lord, or
we will kill you.” The Lord made a decision
about those men from Anathoth. 22The Lord
All-Powerful said, “I will soon punish those
men from Anathoth. Their young men will die
in war. Their sons and daughters will die from
hunger. 23No person from the city of
Anathoth will be left. No person will survive.
I will punish them. I will cause something bad
to happen to them.”
Jeremiah Complains to God
Lord, if I argue with you,
you are always right!
But I want to ask you about some things
that don’t seem right.
Why are wicked people successful?
Why do people you can’t trust have
such easy lives?
2 You have put those wicked people here.
They are like plants with strong roots,
they grow and produce fruit.
12
men of Anathoth Anathoth was Jeremiah’s home town. The
people that were plotting against him there included his own
relatives. See Jer. 12:6.
prophesy To speak for God.

JEREMIAH 12:3–16
With their mouths, they say that you are
near and dear to them.
But in their hearts, they are really far
away from you.
3 But you know my heart, Lord.
You see me and test my mind.
Drag those evil people away
like sheep to be butchered.
Choose them for the day of slaughter.
4 How much longer will the land be dry?
How long will the grass be dry and dead?
The animals and birds in the land have died,
And it is the fault of the wicked people.
Yet those wicked people are saying,
“Jeremiah will not live long enough
to see what happens to us.”
God’s Answer to Jeremiah
5 “Jeremiah, if you get tired running
in a footrace with men,
how will you race against horses?
If you get tired in a safe place,
what will you do in a dangerous place?
What will you do in the thorn bushes
that grow along the Jordan River?
6 These men are your own brothers.
Members of your own family
are making plans against you.
People from your own family
are yelling at you.
Don’t trust them,
even when they speak to you
like friends.”
The Lord Rejects His People, Judah
7 “I (the Lord) have abandoned my house.
I have left my own property.*
I have given the one I love (Judah)
to her enemies.
8 My own people turned against me
like a wild lion.
They roared at me,
so I turned away from them.
9 My own people have become like
a dying animal surrounded by vultures.
Those birds fly around her.
Come on, wild animals.
Come get something to eat.
house … my own property That is, the people of Judah.
874
10 Many shepherds (leaders) have ruined
my field of grapes.
Those shepherds have walked
on the plants in my field.
Those shepherds have made my
beautiful field
into an empty desert.
11 They changed my field to a desert.
It is dry and dead.
No people live there.
The whole country is an empty desert.
There is no person left to care for that field.
12 Soldiers came to take things
from every place in that empty land.
The Lord used those armies
to punish that land.
People from one end of the land
to the other were punished.
No person was safe.
13 The people will plant wheat,
but they will harvest only thorns.
They will work hard until they
are very tired,
but they will get nothing for all
their work.
They will be ashamed of their crop.
The Lord’s anger caused those things.”
The Lord’s Promise to Israel’s Neighbors
14This is what the Lord says: “I will tell you
what I will do for all the people that live around
the land of Israel. Those people are very
wicked. They have destroyed the land I gave to
the people of Israel. I will pull those evil people
up and throw them out of their land. And I will
pull the people of Judah up with them. 15But
after I pull those people out of their land, I will
feel sorry for them. I will bring each family
back to its own property and to its own land.
16I want those people to learn their lessons well.
In the past, those people taught my people to
use Baal’s* name to make promises. Now, I
want those people to learn their lessons just as
well. I want those people to learn to use my
name. I want those people to say, ‘As the Lord
lives …’ If those people do that, then I will
Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought
the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land
produce good crops.

allow them to be successful and I will let them
live among my people. 17But if any nation does
not listen to my message, then I will completely
destroy it. I will pull it up like a dead plant.”
This message is from the Lord.
The Sign of the Loincloth
This is what the Lord said to me:
13“Jeremiah, go and buy a linen loincloth.*
Then put it around your waist. Don’t let the
loincloth get wet.”
2So I bought a linen loincloth,* just as the
Lord told me to do. And I put it around my
waist. 3Then the message of the Lord came to
me a second time. 4This was the message:
“Jeremiah, take the loincloth you bought and
are wearing, and go to Perath.* Hide the
loincloth there in a crack in the rocks.”
5So I went to Perath* and hid the loincloth*
there, just like the Lord told me to do. 6Many
days later, the Lord said to me, “Now,
Jeremiah, go to Perath. Get the loincloth that I
told you to hide there.”
7So I went to Perath and dug up the
loincloth.* I took it out of the crack in the
rocks where I had hidden it. But now I could
not wear the loincloth, because it was ruined.
It was not good for anything.
8Then the message of the Lord came to me.
9This is what the Lord said: “The loincloth* is
ruined and not good for anything. In the same
way, I will ruin the proud people of Judah and
Jerusalem. 10I will ruin those proud and evil
people of Judah. They refuse to listen to my
messages. They are stubborn and do only the
things they want to do. They follow and
worship other gods. Those people of Judah will
become like this linen loincloth. They will be
ruined and not good for anything. 11A loincloth
is wrapped tightly around a man’s waist. In the
same way, I wrapped all the family of Israel
and all the family of Judah around me.” This
message is from the Lord.” I did that so those
loincloth A common undergarment in ancient Judah. It was a
short skirt that was wrapped around the hips. It reached about
halfway down the thighs.
Perath Probably a village near Jerusalem. It is probably the
town that is called Parah in the list of the cities of the land of
Benjamin in Joshua 18:23. But the name “Perath” also means
the Euphrates River.
875 JEREMIAH 12:17–13:17
people would be my people. Then my people
would bring fame, praise, and honor to me. But
my people would not listen to me.”
Warnings to Judah
12“Jeremiah, say to the people of Judah:
‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel,
says: Every wineskin* should be filled with
wine.’ Those people will laugh and say to
you, ‘Of course, we know that every wineskin
should be filled with wine.’ 13Then you will
say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I
will make everyone that lives in this land
helpless, like a drunken man. I am talking
about the kings that sit on David’s throne. I
am also talking about the priests, the prophets,
and all the people that live in Jerusalem. 14I
will make the people of Judah stumble and
fall into one another. Fathers and sons will
fall into one another.’” This message is from
the Lord. “‘I will not feel sorry or have pity
for them. I will not allow compassion to stop
me from destroying the people of Judah.’”
15 Listen and pay attention.
The Lord has spoken to you.
Don’t be proud.
16 Honor the Lord your God.
Praise him or he will bring darkness.
Praise him before you fall
on the dark hills.
You people of Judah are hoping for light.
But the Lord will turn the light into
thick darkness.
The Lord will change the light into a
very thick darkness.
17 If you people of Judah don’t listen
to the Lord,
I will hide and cry.
Your pride will cause me to cry.
I will cry very hard.
My eyes will overflow with tears.
Why? Because the Lord’s flock*
will be captured.
wineskin A bottle made from the skin of an animal and used for
storing wine.
Lord’s flock This is a figurative name for the people of Judah.
The Lord is thought of as a shepherd, while his people are
seen as his flock of sheep.

JEREMIAH 13:18–14:3
18 Tell these things to the king and his wife,
“Come down from your thrones.
Your beautiful crowns have fallen
from your heads.”
19 The cities in the Negev desert* are locked.
No person can open them.
All the people of Judah are taken
into exile.*
They were carried away as prisoners.
20 Jerusalem, look!
The enemy is coming from the north!*
Where is your flock?*
God gave that beautiful flock to you.
{You were supposed to care for that flock.}
21 What will you say when the Lord asks you
to account for that flock?
You were supposed to teach the people
{about God}.
Your leaders were supposed to lead
the people.
{But they did not do their job!}
So you will have much pain and troubles.
You will be like a woman having
a baby.
22 You might ask yourself,
“Why has this bad thing happened to me?”
Those things happened because of your
many sins.
Because of your sins,
your skirt was torn off
and your shoes were taken away.
They did this to embarrass you.
23 A black man can’t change
the color of his skin.
And a leopard can’t change his spots.
In the same way, Jerusalem, you can’t
change and do good.
You always do bad things.
24 “I will force you to leave your homes.
You will run in all directions.
Negev desert The desert area in the southern part of the
kingdom of Judah.
exile Being forced to leave one’s home country and being
moved to a foreign country.
north This refers to the army of Babylon coming from the north
to attack the nation of Judah.
flock Here, the word “flock” refers to all the towns around
Jerusalem, as if Jerusalem were the shepherd and the towns of
Judah were her flock.
876
You will be like chaff* blown away
by the desert wind.
25 These are the things that will happen to you.
This is your part in my plans.”
This message is from the Lord.
“Why will this happen?
Because you forgot me.
You trusted false gods.
26 Jerusalem, I will pull your skirt up over
your face.
Everyone will see you,
and you will be ashamed.
27 I saw the terrible things you did.*
I saw you laughing
and having sex with your lovers.
I know about your plans
to be like a prostitute.*
I have seen you on the hills
and in the fields.
It will be very bad for you, Jerusalem.
I wonder how long you will continue doing
your dirty sins.”
14
Drought and False Prophets
This is the Lord’s message to Jeremiah
about the drought:*
2 “The nation of Judah cries for people
that have died.
The people in the cities of Judah
grow weaker and weaker.
Those people lie on the ground.
People in Jerusalem cry to God for help.
3 The leaders of the people send their servants
to get water.
The servants go to the water storage places,
but they don’t find any water.
The servants come back with empty jars.
So they are ashamed and embarrassed.
They cover their heads from shame.
chaff The seed coverings and stems separated from the seeds of
plants like wheat or barley. Farmers saved the seeds but let the
wind blow the useless chaff away.
I saw … you did This is probably talking about worshiping
false gods. But part of that worship was having sex with
temple prostitutes.
prostitute A woman paid by men for sexual sin. Sometimes this
also means a person that is not faithful to God and stops
following him.
drought A time when no rain falls and the crops become dry
and die.

4 No person prepares the ground for crops.*
No rain falls on the land.
The farmers are depressed.
So they cover their heads from shame.
5 Even the mother deer in the field
leaves her newborn baby alone.
She does this because there is no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills.
They sniff the wind like jackals.*
But their eyes can’t find any food,
because there are no plants to eat.
7 “We know that those things are our fault.
We are now suffering because of our sins.
Lord, do something to help us for the
good of your name.
We admit that we left you many times.
We have sinned against you.
8 God, you are the Hope of Israel!
You save Israel in times of trouble.
But now it seems like you are
a stranger in the land.
It seems like you are a traveler that only
stays one night.
9 You seem like a man that has been
attacked by surprise.
You seem like a soldier that does not
have the power to save anyone.
But Lord, you are with us.
We are called by your name,
So don’t leave us without help!”
10This is what the Lord says about the
people of Judah: “The people of Judah really
love to leave me. Those people don’t stop
themselves from leaving me. So now, the
Lord will not accept them. Now the Lord will
remember the bad things they do. The Lord
will punish them for their sins.”
11Then the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah,
don’t pray for good things to happen to the
people of Judah. 12The people of Judah might
begin to fast* {and pray to me}. But I will not
listen to their prayers. Even if they offer burnt
No person prepares the ground for crops Following the
ancient Greek translation. The Hebrew is hard to understand.
jackals A wild animal, like a dog. Those animals only live
where no people are.
fast Going without food for a special time of prayer and
877 JEREMIAH 14:4–18
offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not
accept those people. I will destroy the people
of Judah with war. I will take away their food,
and the people of Judah will starve. And I will
destroy them with terrible diseases.”
13But I said to the Lord, “Lord, my Master,
the prophets were telling the people something
different. They were telling the people of Judah,
‘You people will not suffer from an enemy’s
sword. You will never suffer from hunger. The
Lord will give you peace in this land.’”
14Then the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah,
those prophets are preaching lies in my name.
I did not send those prophets. I did not
command them or speak to them. Those
prophets have been preaching false visions,
worthless magic, and their own wishful
thinking. 15So this is what I say about the
prophets that are preaching in my name. I did
not send those prophets. Those prophets said,
‘No enemy with swords will ever attack this
country. There will never be hunger in this
land.’ Those prophets will die from hunger
and an enemy’s sword will kill them. 16And
the people those prophets spoke to will be
thrown into the streets. Those people will die
from hunger and from an enemy’s sword. No
person will be there to bury those people, or
their wives or their sons or daughters. I will
punish them.
17 “Jeremiah, speak this message
to the people of Judah:
‘My eyes are filled with tears.
I will cry night and day without stopping.
I will cry for my virgin daughter.*
I will cry for my people.
Why? Because someone hit them
and crushed them.
They have been hurt very badly.
18 If I go into the country,
I see the people that were killed
with swords.
If I go into the city,
I see much sickness,
because the people have no food.
The priests and the prophets
have been taken away to a foreign land.’”
worship. virgin daughter This is another name for Jerusalem.

JEREMIAH 14:19–15:8
19 “Lord, have you completely rejected
the nation of Judah?
Lord, do you hate Zion*?
You hurt us so badly
that we can’t be made well again.
Why did you do that?
We were hoping for peace,
but nothing good has come.
We were hoping for a time of healing,
but only terror came.
20 Lord, we know that we are evil people.
We know that our ancestors*
did bad things.
Yes, we sinned against you.
21 Lord, for the good of your name,
don’t push us away.
Don’t take away the honor
from your glorious throne.
Remember your Agreement* with us.
Don’t break that Agreement.
22 Foreign idols don’t have the power
to bring rain.
The sky does not have the power
to send showers of rain down.
You are our only hope.
You are the One who made all
these things.”
The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, even if
15Moses and Samuel were here to pray for
the people of Judah, I would not feel sorry for
these people. Send the people of Judah away
from me. Tell them to go. 2Those people
might ask you, ‘Where will we go?’ You tell
them this: This is what the Lord says:
‘I have chosen some people to die.
Those people will die.
I have chosen some people
to be killed with swords.
Those people will be killed with swords.
I have chosen some people
to die from hunger.
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
Agreement Literally, “Proof.” The flat stones with the Ten
Commandments written on them were proof of the Agreement
between God and Israel.
878
Those people will die from hunger.
I have chosen some people
to be captured and carried
to a foreign country.
Those people will be prisoners in that
foreign country.
3 I will send four kinds of destroyers
against them.’
This message is from the Lord.
‘I will send the enemy with a sword to kill.
I will send the dogs to drag their
bodies away.
I will send birds of the air and wild animals
to eat and destroy their bodies.
4 I will make the people of Judah
an example of some terrible thing
for all the people on earth.
I will do this to the people of Judah
because of what Manasseh* did
in Jerusalem.
Manasseh was the son of King Hezekiah.
Manasseh was a king of Judah.’
5 “No person will feel sorry for you,
city of Jerusalem.
No person will be sad and cry for you.
No person will go out of his way
to even ask how you are!
6 Jerusalem, you left me.”
This message is from the Lord.
“Again and again you left me!
So I will punish and destroy you.
I am tired of holding back
your punishment.
7 I will separate the people of Judah
with my pitchfork.*
I will scatter them at the city gates
of the land.
My people have not changed.
So I will destroy them.
I will take away their children.
8 Many women will lose their husbands.
There will be more widows
than there is sand in the sea.
I will bring a destroyer at noontime.
The destroyer will attack the mothers
of the young men of Judah.
Manasseh Manasseh was the most evil king of Judah,
according to 2 Kings 21:1–16. He worshiped many gods.
pitchfork A tool with sharp points for throwing hay from one
place to another.

I will bring pain and fear
on the people of Judah.
I will make this happen very quickly.
9 The enemy will attack with swords
and kill the people.
They will kill the survivors* from Judah.
A woman might have seven sons,
{but they will all die.}
She will cry and cry
until she becomes weak
and not able to breathe.
She will be upset and confused.
Her bright day will become dark
from sadness.”
Jeremiah Again Complains to God
10 Mother, I (Jeremiah) am sorry
that you gave birth to me.
I am the person that must accuse
and criticize the whole land.
I have not loaned or borrowed anything.
But every person curses me.
11 Truly, Lord, I have served you well.
In time of troubles, I prayed to you
about my enemies.
God Answers Jeremiah
12 “Jeremiah, you know that no person
can shatter a piece of iron.
I mean the kind of iron
that is from the north.*
And no person can shatter a piece of
bronze either.
13 The people of Judah have many treasures.
I will give those riches to other people.
Those other people will not have
to buy them.
{I will give those riches to them.}
Why? Because Judah has many sins.
People sinned in every part of Judah
14 People of Judah, I will make you slaves
of your enemies.
You will be slaves in a land
that you never knew.
survivors People that escaped some disaster. Here this means
the Jewish people that survived the destruction of Judah and
Israel by its enemy armies.
north This refers to the army of Babylon coming from the north
to attack the nation of Judah.
879 JEREMIAH 15:9–20
I am very angry.
My anger is like a hot fire,
and you will be burned.”
15 Lord, you understand me.
Remember me and take care of me.
People are hurting me.
Give those people the punishment
that they deserve.
You are being patient with those people.
But don’t destroy me
while you remain patient with them.
Think about me.
Think about the pain I suffer for you,
Lord.
16 Your message came to me
and I ate your words.
Your message made me very happy.
I was happy to be called by your name.
Your name is Lord All-Powerful.
17 I never sat with the crowd
as they laughed and had fun.
I sat by myself because of your
influence on me.
You filled me with anger
at the evil around me.
18 I don’t understand why I still hurt.
I don’t understand why my wound
is not cured and cannot be healed.
Lord, I think you have changed.
You are like a spring of water
that became dry.
You are like a spring
whose water has stopped flowing.
19 Then, the Lord said,
“Jeremiah, if you change
and come back to me,
then I will not punish you.
If you change and come back to me,
then you can serve me.
If you speak important things,
and not those worthless words,
then you can speak for me.
The people of Judah should change
and come back to you {Jeremiah}.
But don’t you change
and be like them.
20 I will make you strong.
Those people will think you are strong
like a wall made of bronze.

JEREMIAH 15:21–16:16 880
The people of Judah will fight against you.
But they will not defeat you.
They will not defeat you.
Why? Because I am with you.
I will help you and I will save you.”
21
This message is from the Lord.
“I will save you from those evil people.
Those people scare you.
But I will save you from those people.”
The Day of Disaster
The Lord’s message came to me:
16 2“Jeremiah, you must not get married.
You must not have sons or daughters in this
place.”
3The Lord says these things about the sons
and daughters that are born in the land of
Judah. And this is what the Lord says about
the mothers and fathers of those children:
4“Those people will die a terrible death. No
person will cry for those people. No person
will bury them. Their bodies will lie on the
ground like dung. Those people will die by an
enemy’s sword, or they will starve to death.
Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of
the sky and the wild animals of the earth.”
5So the Lord says: “Jeremiah, don’t go into
a house where people are eating a funeral
meal. Don’t go there to cry for the dead or
show your sorrow. Don’t do those things.
Why? Because I have taken back my blessing.
I will not be kind to these people of Judah. I
will not feel sorry for them.” This message is
from the Lord.
6“Important people and common people will
die in the land of Judah. No person will bury
those people or cry for them. No person will cut
himself or shave his head to show sorrow for
those people. 7No person will bring food to the
people that are crying for the dead. No person
will comfort those people whose mother or
father has died. No person will offer a drink to
comfort the people that are crying for the dead.
8“Jeremiah, don’t go into a house where the
people are having a party. Don’t go into that
house and sit down to eat and drink. 9The
sounds people make during a wedding party.
This will happen during your lifetime. I will
do these things quickly.’
10“Jeremiah, you will tell the people of
Judah these things. And the people will ask
you, ‘Why has the Lord said these terrible
things to us? What have we done wrong?
What sin have we done against the Lord our
God?’
Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel says
these things: ‘I will soon stop the sounds of
people having fun. I will stop the happy
11You must say these things to those
people: ‘Terrible things will happen to you
because your ancestors* quit following me.’
This message is from the Lord. ‘They quit
following me and began to follow and serve
other gods. They worshiped those other gods.
Your ancestors left me and `quit obeying my
law. 12But you people have sinned more than
your ancestors. You are very stubborn. And
you are doing only the things that you want to
do. You are not obeying me. You do only
what you want to do. 13So I will throw you
out of this country. I will force you to go to a
foreign country. You will go to a land that
you and your ancestors never knew. In that
land you can serve false gods all you want to.
I will not help you or show you any favors.’
14“People make promises and say, ‘As
surely as the Lord lives. He is the One who
brought the people of Israel out of the land of
Egypt.’ But the time is coming,” this message
is from the Lord, “when people will not say
those things. 15The people will say something
new. They will say, ‘As surely as the Lord
lives. He is the One who brought the people of
Israel out of the northern land. He brought
them out of all the countries where he had sent
them.’ Why will the people say these things?
Because I will bring the people of Israel back
to the land that I gave to their ancestors.*
16“I will soon send for many fishermen to
come to this land.” This message is from the
Lord. “Those fishermen will catch the people
of Judah. After that happens, I will send for
many hunters to come to this land. Those
hunters* will hunt the people of Judah on
every mountain and hill and in the cracks of
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
fishermen … hunters This means the enemy soldiers from
Babylon.

the rocks. 17I see everything they do. The
people of Judah can’t hide from me the things
they do. Their sin is not hidden from me. 18I
will pay the people of Judah back for the bad
things they did—I will punish them two times
for every sin. I will do this because they have
made my land ‘dirty.’ They made my land
‘dirty’ with their terrible idols. I hate those
idols. But they have filled my country with
their idols.”
19 Lord, you are my strength
and my protection.
You are a safe place to run to
in time of trouble.
The nations will come to you
from all around the world.
They will say,
“Our fathers had false gods.
They worshiped those worthless idols,
but those idols did not help
them at all.”
20 Can people make real gods for themselves?
No! They can make statues,
but those statues are not really gods.
21 So I will teach those people that make
idols.
Right now I will teach them
about my power and my strength.
Then they will know that I am God.
They will know that I am the Lord.”
17
Guilt Written on the Heart
“ The sins of the people of Judah
are written down in a place
where they can’t be erased.
Those sins were cut into stone
with an iron pen.
Their sins were cut into stone
with a diamond tipped pen.*
And that stone is their heart.
Those sins were cut
into the horns of their altars.*
diamond tipped pen Or, “flint-tipped pen.”
horns of their altars The corners of altars were shaped like
horns. This was like a place of safety for the people. If a
person did something wrong, he could run to the altar. People
could punish them only if they proved the person was guilty.
Here Jeremiah is saying that there is no safe place for the
people of Judah.
881 JEREMIAH 16:17–17:8
2 Their children remember the altars
that were dedicated to false gods.
They remember the wooden poles
that were dedicated to Asherah.*
They remember those things
under the green trees and on the hills.
3 They remember those things
on the mountains in the open country.
The people of Judah have many treasures.
I will give those things to other people.
People will destroy all the high places*
in your country.
You worshiped at those places.
And that was a sin.
4 You will lose the land I gave you.
I will let your enemies take you
to be their slaves.
Why? Because I am very angry.
My anger is like a hot fire,
and you will be burned forever.”
Trusting in People, and Trusting in God
5 The Lord says these things:
“Bad things will happen to people
that trust only other people.
Bad things will happen to people
that depend on other people for strength.
Why? Because those people have stopped
trusting the Lord.
6 Those people are like a bush in a desert.
That bush is in a land where no
people live.
That bush is in a hot and dry land.
That bush is in a bad soil.
That bush does not know
about the good things that God
can give.
7 But the person that trusts in the Lord
will be blessed.
Why? Because the Lord will show him
that the Lord can be trusted.
8 That person will be strong
like a tree planted near water.
That tree has large roots that find the water.
Asherah An important Canaanite goddess. At this time, the
people thought she was the wife of Baal.
high places Special places where the people worshiped false
gods. These places were often on hilltops, but not always.
Some ‘high places’ were in valleys.

JEREMIAH 17:9–24
That tree is not afraid
when the days are hot.
Its leaves are always green.
It does not worry in a year
when no rain comes.
That tree always produces fruit.
9 “A person’s mind is very tricky!
The mind can be very sick,
and no person truly understands it.
10 But I am the Lord,
and I can look into a person’s heart.
I can test a person’s mind.
I can decide what each person should have.
I can give each person the right payment
for the things he does.
11 Sometimes a bird will hatch an egg
that it did not lay.
A person that cheats to get money
is like that bird.
When that man’s life is half finished,
he will lose the money.
At the end of his life, it will be clear
that he was a foolish person.”
12 From the very beginning, our temple*
has been a glorious throne for God.
It is a very important place.
13 Lord, you are the hope of Israel.
Lord, you are like a spring of
living water.
If a person quits following the Lord,
then his life will be very short.*
Jeremiah’s Third Complaint
14 Lord, if you heal me,
I truly will be healed.
Save me,
and I truly will be saved.
Lord, I praise you!
15 The people of Judah continue to ask
me questions.
They say,
“Jeremiah, what about the message
from the Lord?
Let’s see that message come true.”
temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.
his life will be very short Literally, “He will be written in the
dirt.” This might mean a person’s name was written on a list of
people that would soon die. Or that a person’s life will soon be
gone—like a name written in the sand.
882
16 Lord, I did not run away from you.
I followed you.
I became the shepherd* you wanted.
I did not want the terrible day to come.
Lord, you know the things I said.
You see all that is happening.
17 Lord, don’t ruin me.
I depend on you in times of trouble.
18 People are hurting me.
Make those people ashamed.
But don’t disappoint me.
Let those people be scared.
But don’t scare me.
Bring the terrible day of disaster
to my enemies.
Break them.
And break them again.
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19The Lord said these things to me:
“Jeremiah, go and stand at the People’s
Gate,* where the kings of Judah go in and
out. {Tell the people my message, and then} go
to all the other gates of Jerusalem and do the
same things.”
20Say to those people: “Listen to the
message of the Lord. Listen, kings of Judah.
Listen, all you people of Judah. All you
people that come through these gates into
Jerusalem, listen to me! 21The Lord says these
things: Be careful that you don’t carry a load
on the Sabbath* day. And don’t bring a load
through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath
day. 22Don’t bring a load out of your houses
on the Sabbath day. Don’t do any work on
that day. You must make the Sabbath day a
holy day. I gave this same command to your
ancestors.* 23But your ancestors did not obey
me. They did not pay attention to me. Your
ancestors were very stubborn. I punished
them, but it did not do any good. They did not
listen to me. 24But you must be careful to
shepherd God’s people are sometimes called his “sheep,” and
the person that takes care of them is called the “shepherd.”
People’s Gate This might be one of the gates into Jerusalem or
perhaps one of the southern gates the non-priests used to go
up into the temple.
Sabbath Saturday, a special day of rest and worship for Jews.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.

obey me.” This message is from the Lord.
“You must not bring a load through the gates
of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. You must make
the Sabbath day a holy day. You will do this
by not doing any work on that day.
25“If you obey this command, then kings
that sit on David’s throne will come through
the gates of Jerusalem. Those kings will come
riding on chariots* and on horses. The leaders
of the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be
with those kings. And Jerusalem will have
people living in it forever! 26People will come
to Jerusalem from the towns of Judah. People
will come to Jerusalem from the little villages
that are around it. People will come from the
land where the family group of Benjamin
lives.* People will come from the western
foothills and from the hill country. And people
will come from the Negev.* All those people
will bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, grains
offerings, incense,* and thank offerings. They
will bring those offerings and sacrifices to the
temple of the Lord.
27“But if you don’t listen to me and obey
me, then bad things will happen. If you carry
loads into Jerusalem on the Sabbath* day,
then you are not keeping it a holy day. So I
will start a fire that can’t be put out. That fire
will start at the gates of Jerusalem, and it will
burn until it burns even the palaces.*”
The Potter and the Clay
This is the message that came to
18Jeremiah from the Lord: 2“Jeremiah, go
down to the potter’s* house. I will give you
my message at the potter’s house.”
3So I went down to the potter’s house. I
saw the potter working with clay at the wheel.
4He was making a pot from clay. But there
chariot(s) A small wagon used in war.
the land where … Benjamin lives The land of Benjamin was
just north of the land of Judah.
Negev The desert area south of Judah.
incense Special dried tree sap. Burned to make a sweetsmelling
smoke, it was offered as a gift to God.
Sabbath Saturday, a special day of rest and worship for Jews.
palaces A large house for the king and his family.
potter’s Someone that makes pottery (jars, bowls, etc.) from
clay. The Hebrew word also means, “Creator, or “a person
that makes new things.”
883 JEREMIAH 17:25–18:14
was something wrong with the pot. So the
potter used that clay again, and he made
another pot. He used his hands to shape the
pot the way that he wanted it to be.
5Then the message from the Lord came to
me: 6“Family of Israel, you know that I (God)
can do the same thing with you. You are like
the clay in the potter’s* hands. And I am like
the potter! 7There may come a time that I will
speak about a nation or a kingdom. I may say
that I will pull that nation up. Or maybe I will
say that I will pull that nation down and
destroy that nation or kingdom. 8But the
people of that nation might change their
hearts and lives. The people in that nation
might stop doing evil things. Then I would
change my mind. I would not follow my plans
to bring disaster to that nation. 9There might
come another time when I speak about a
nation. I might say that I will build up and
plant that nation. 10But I might see that nation
doing evil things and not obeying me. Then I
would think again about the good I had
planned to do for that nation.
11“So, Jeremiah, say to the people of Judah
and the people that live in Jerusalem, ‘This is
what the Lord says: I am preparing troubles
for you right now. I am making plans against
you. So stop doing the evil things that you are
doing. Each person must change and start
doing good things!’ 12But the people of Judah
will answer, ‘It will not do any good to try.
We will continue to do what we want. Each of
us is going to do the things his stubborn, evil
heart wants.’”
13 Listen to the things the Lord says:
“Ask the other nations this question:
‘Have you ever heard of anyone
doing the evil things Israel has done?’
And Israel is special to God.
Israel is like God’s bride!
14 You know that rocks never leave the fields
by themselves.*
You know … themselves This is probably a word play. In
Hebrew this sounds like, “Would anyone leave the Rock,
Shaddai?” These are two names for God. But this could also be
translated, “Does Lebanon’s snow ever melt from Shaddai’s
mountain?” This would probably mean Mount Hermon.

JEREMIAH 18:15–19:5 884
You know that the snow on the mountains Let their wives be without children.
15
16
of Lebanon never melts.
You know that cool, flowing streams
do not become dry.
But my people have forgotten about me.
They make offerings to worthless idols.
My people stumble in the things they do.
They stumble about in the old paths
of their ancestors.*
My people would rather walk
along back roads and poor highways,
than to follow me on the good roads.
So Judah’s country will become
an empty desert.
People will whistle and shake their heads
every time they pass by.
They will be shocked
at how the country was destroyed.
22
23
Let the men from Judah be put to death.
Make their wives into widows.
Let the men from Judah be put to death.
Let the young men be killed in battle.
Let there be crying in their houses.
Make them cry when you suddenly
bring an enemy against them.
Let all this happen because my enemies
tried to trap me.
They hid traps for me to step in.
Lord, you know about their plans
to kill me.
Don’t forgive their crimes.
Don’t erase their sins.
Destroy my enemies!
Punish those people while you are angry!
17 I will scatter the people of Judah.
They will run from their enemies.
I will scatter the people of Judah like
an east wind that blows things away.
I will destroy those people.
They won’t see me coming to help them.
No! They will see me leaving!”
The Broken Jar
The Lord said to me: “Jeremiah, go and
19buy a clay jar from a potter.*
Jeremiah’s Fourth Complaint
18Then the enemies of Jeremiah said,
“Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah.
Surely the teaching of the law by the priest
will not be lost. And the advice from the wise
men will still be with us. We will still have the
words of the prophets. So let us tell lies about
him. That will ruin him. We will not pay
attention to anything he says.”
19
20
Lord, listen to me!
Listen to my arguments
and decide who is right.
I have been good to the people of Judah.
But now they are paying me back
with evil.
21
They are trying to trap me and kill me.
So make their children starve in a famine.*
Let their enemies defeat them
with swords.
2Go out to
the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the front of
the Potsherd Gate.* Take some of the elders
(leaders) of the people and some priests with
you. At that place, tell them the things that I
tell you. 3Say to those people with you, ‘King
of Judah and people of Jerusalem, listen to this
message from the Lord! This is what the Lord
All-Powerful, the God of the people of Israel,
says: I will soon make a terrible thing happen
to this place! Every person that hears about it
will be amazed and full of fear. 4I will do
these things because the people of Judah quit
following me. They have made this a place for
foreign gods. The people of Judah have
burned sacrifices in this place to other gods.
The people did not worship those gods long
ago. Their ancestors* did not worship those
gods. These are new gods from other
countries. The kings of Judah filled this place
with the blood of the innocent children. 5The
kings of Judah built high places* for the god
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
famine A time when there is not enough rain for crops to grow.
People and animals die without enough food or water.
potter A worker that makes things from clay. The Hebrew word
also means “creator.”
Potsherd Gate The exact location of this gate is not known,
though it was probably at the southwestern part of the city.
high places Special places where the people worshiped false
gods. These places were often on hilltops, but not always.
Some ‘high places’ were in valleys.

Baal.* They use those places to burn their sons
in the fire. They burned their sons as burnt
offerings to the god Baal. I did not tell them to
do that. I did not ask you to offer your sons as
sacrifices. I never even thought of such a
thing. 6Now people call this place Topheth
and the Valley of Hinnom. But, I give you this
warning. This message is from the Lord: The
days are coming, when people will call this
place the Valley of Slaughter.* 7At this place,
I will ruin the plans of the people of Judah and
Jerusalem. The enemy will chase these people.
And I will let the people of Judah be killed
with swords in this place. And I will make
their dead bodies food for the birds and wild
animals. 8I will completely destroy this city.
People will whistle and shake their heads
when they pass by Jerusalem. They will be
shocked when they see how the city was
destroyed. 9The enemy will bring its army
around the city. That army will not let people
go out to get food. So the people in the city
will begin to starve. They will become so
hungry that they will eat the bodies of their
own sons and daughters. And then they will
begin to eat each other.’
10“Jeremiah, you will tell those things to
the people. And while they are watching, you
will break that jar. 11At that time, say these
things: ‘The Lord All-Powerful says, I will
break the nation of Judah and the city of
Jerusalem just like someone breaking a clay
jar! This jar can’t be put back together again.
It will be the same for the nation of Judah.
The dead people will be buried here in
Topheth until there is no more room. 12I will
do this to these people and to this place. I will
make this city like Topheth.’ This message is
from the Lord. 13‘The houses in Jerusalem
will become as “dirty” as this place, Topheth.
The kings’ palaces* will be ruined like this
place, Topheth. Why? Because the people
worshiped false gods on the roofs of those
Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought
the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land
produce good crops.
Slaughter Usually, this word means to kill an animal and cut it
into pieces of meat. But it often means to kill people like they
are animals.
palace(s) A large house for the king and his family.
885 JEREMIAH 19:6–20:5
houses.* They worshiped the stars and burned
sacrifices to honor them. They gave drink
offerings to false gods.’”
14Then Jeremiah left Topheth where the
Lord had told him to preach. Jeremiah went to
the Lord’s temple* and stood in the
courtyard* of the temple. Jeremiah said to all
the people: 15“This is what the Lord All-
Powerful, the God of Israel says: ‘I said I
would bring many disasters to Jerusalem and
the villages around it. I will soon make those
things happen. Why? Because the people are
very stubborn—they refused to listen and
obey me.’”
Jeremiah and Pashhur
A man named Pashhur was a priest. He
20was the highest officer in the temple*
of the Lord. Pashhur was the son of a man
named Immer. Pashhur heard Jeremiah preach
those things in the temple yard. 2So he had
Jeremiah the prophet beaten. And he had
Jeremiah’s hands and feet locked between
large blocks of wood. This was at the Upper
Gate of Benjamin of the temple. 3The next
day Pashhur took Jeremiah out from between
the blocks of wood. Then Jeremiah said to
Pashhur, “The Lord’s name for you is not
Pashhur. Now the Lord’s name for you is
Terror on Every Side. 4That is your name,
because the Lord says: ‘I will soon make you
a terror to yourself! I will soon make you a
terror to all your friends. You will watch
enemies killing your friends with swords. I
will give all the people of Judah to the king of
Babylon. He will take the people of Judah
away to the country of Babylon. And his army
will kill the people of Judah with their
swords. 5The people of Jerusalem worked
hard to build things and become wealthy. But
I will give all those things to their enemies.
The king in Jerusalem has many treasures.
But I will give all those treasures to the
enemy. The enemy will take those things and
carry them away to the country of Babylon.
roofs of those houses People built their house with a flat roof,
and they used the roof like an extra room.
temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.
courtyard The large area around the temple sanctuary.

JEREMIAH 20:6–18
886
6And Pashhur, you and all the people living in 11 But the Lord is with me.
your house will be taken away. You will be
forced to go and live in the country of
Babylon. You will die in Babylon. And you
will be buried in that foreign country. You
preached lies to your friends. {You said these
things would not happen.} But all of your
friends will also die and be buried in
Babylon.’”
The Lord is like a strong soldier.
So the people that are chasing me will fall.
Those people will not defeat me.
Those people will fail.
They will be disappointed.
Those people will be ashamed.
And people will never forget that shame.
12 Lord All-Powerful, you test good people.
You look deeply into a person’s mind.
I told you my arguments
against those people.
So let me see you give them
the punishment that they deserve.
13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord!
The Lord saves the lives of poor people!
He saves them from wicked people!
Jeremiah’s Fifth Complaint
7 Lord, you tricked me,
and I certainly was fooled.
You are stronger than I am,
so you won.
I have become a joke.
People laugh at me
and make fun of me all day long.
8 Every time I speak, I shout.
I am always shouting about
violence and destruction.
I tell the people about the message
that I received from the Lord.
But people only insult me
and make fun of me.
9 Sometimes I say to myself,
“I will forget about the Lord.
I will not speak any more
in the name of the Lord!”
But when I say that,
then the Lord’s message is like a fire
burning inside of me!
It feels like it is burning
deep in my bones!
I get tired of trying to hold
the Lord’s message inside of me.
And finally, I am not able to hold it in.
10 I hear people whispering against me.
Everywhere, I hear things that scare me.
Even my friends are saying things
against me.
People are just waiting for me
to make some mistake.
They are saying,
“Let us lie and say he did some bad thing.
Maybe we can trick Jeremiah.
Then we will have him.
We will finally be rid of him.
Then we will grab him
and take our revenge on him.”
Jeremiah’s Sixth Complaint
14 Curse the day that I was born!
Don’t bless the day my mother had me.
15 Curse the man that told my father
the news that I was born.
“You have a son,” he said.
“It is a boy!”
He made my father very happy
when he told him that news.
16 Let that man be the same as
the cities that the Lord destroyed.*
The Lord did not have any pity
on those cities.
Let that man hear shouts of war
in the morning.
And let him hear battle cries
at noontime.
17 Why? Because that man did not kill me
while I was in my mother’s body.
If he had killed me at that time,
my mother would have been my grave,
and I would never have been born.
18 Why did I have to come out of the body?
All I have seen is trouble and sorrow.
And my life will end in shame.
cities that the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. See
Gen. 19.

887 JEREMIAH 21:1–13
God Rejects King Zedekiah’s Request
This is the message that came to
21Jeremiah from the Lord. This was when
Zedekiah, the king of Judah, sent a man
named Pashhur and a priest named Zephaniah
to Jeremiah. Pashhur* was the son of a man
named Malkijah. Zephaniah was the son of a
man named Maaseiah. Pashhur and
Zephaniah brought a message for Jeremiah.
2Pashhur and Zephaniah said to Jeremiah,
“Pray to the Lord for us. Ask the Lord what
will happen. We want to know, because
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, is
attacking us. Maybe the Lord will do great
things for us, like he did in the past. Maybe
the Lord will make Nebuchadnezzar stop
attacking us and leave.”
3Then Jeremiah answered Pashhur and
Zephaniah. He said, “Tell King Zedekiah:
4This is what the Lord, the God of Israel,
says: ‘You have weapons of war in your
hands. You are using those weapons to defend
yourselves against the king of Babylon and
the Babylonians.* But I will make those
weapons worthless.
“‘The army from Babylon is outside the
wall around the city. That army is all around
the city. Soon I will bring that army into
Jerusalem. 5I myself will fight against you
people of Judah. I will fight against you with
my own powerful hand. I am very angry with
you, so I will fight against you with my own
powerful arm. I will fight very hard against
you and show how angry I am. 6I will kill the
people living in Jerusalem. I will kill people
and animals. They will die from terrible
sicknesses that will spread all through the
city. 7After
killed with swords. Some of them will not die
from hunger. But I will give those people to
Nebuchadnezzar. I will let Judah’s enemy
win. Nebuchadnezzar’s army wants to kill the
people of Judah. So the people of Judah and
Jerusalem will be killed with swords.
Nebuchadnezzar will not show any mercy. He
will not feel sorry for those people.’
8“Also tell these things to the people of
Jerusalem. The Lord says these things:
‘Understand that I will let you choose to live
or die.
that happens,’” this message is
from the Lord, “‘I will give Zedekiah king of
Judah to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I
will also give Zedekiah’s officials to
Nebuchadnezzar. Some of the people in
Jerusalem will not die from the terrible
sicknesses. Some of the people will not be
9Any person that stays in Jerusalem
will die. That person will die by a sword, or
from hunger, or from a terrible sickness. But
any person that goes out of Jerusalem and
surrenders to the Babylonian army will live!
That army has surrounded the city. So no
person can bring food into the city. But any
person that leaves the city will save his life.
10I have decided to make trouble for the city
of Jerusalem. I will not help the city.’” This
message is from the Lord. “‘I will give the
city of Jerusalem to the king of Babylon. He
will burn it with fire.’
11
12
13
“Tell these things to Judah’s royal family:
Listen to the message from the Lord.
Family of David,*
the Lord says these things:
‘You must judge people fairly every day.
Protect the victims* from the criminals.
If you don’t do that,
then I will become very angry.
My anger will be like a fire
that no person will be able to put out.
This will happen because you
have done evil things.’
“Jerusalem, I am against you.
You sit on top of the mountain.
You sit like a queen over this valley.
You people of Jerusalem say,
‘No person can attack us.
No person can come into our strong city.’
But listen to this message from the Lord.
Pashhur This is not the same Pashhur as the man in Jer. 20:1.
Babylonians The Babylonians were the family group to which
King Nebuchadnezzar belonged. They were the group that
controlled the land of Babylon at this time.
Family of David The royal family of Judah. God promised that
men from David’s family would be kings in Judah.
victims People that have suffered some kind of hurt or trouble.
Often this means people that were hurt or lost something
during a crime.

JEREMIAH 21:14–22:13
14 ‘You will get the punishment you deserve.
I will start a fire in your forests.
That fire will completely burn everything
around you.’”
Judgment Against Evil Kings
The Lord said: “Jeremiah, go down to
22the king’s palace. Go to the king of
Judah and preach this message there: 2‘Listen
to the message from the Lord, King of Judah.
You rule from David’s throne, so listen. King,
you and your officials must listen well. All of
your people that come through the gates of
Jerusalem must listen to the message from the
Lord. 3The Lord says: Do the things that are
fair and right. Protect the person that has been
robbed from the person that robbed him.
Don’t hurt or do anything wrong to orphans*
or widows.* Don’t kill innocent people. 4If
you obey these commands, then this is what
will happen: kings that sit on David’s throne
will continue to come through the gates into
the city of Jerusalem. Those kings will come
through the gates with their officials. Those
kings, their officials, and their people will
come riding in chariots* and on horses. 5But if
you don’t obey these commands, this is what
the Lord says: I, the Lord, promise that this
king’s palace* will be destroyed—it will
become a pile of rocks.’”
6This is what the Lord says about the palace
where the king of Judah lives:
“The palace* is tall,
like the forests of Gilead.
The palace is tall
like the mountains of Lebanon.
But I will make it like a desert.
This palace will be empty
like a city where no person lives.
7 I will send men to destroy the palace.
Each man will have weapons
that he will use to destroy that house.
orphan(s) Children whose parents are dead. Often these
children have no one to care for them.
widow(s) Women whose husbands have died. Often these
women had no one to care for them.
chariot(s) A small wagon used in war.
palace A large house for the king and his family.
888
Those men will cut up your strong,
beautiful cedar beams.
Those men will throw those beams
into the fire.”
8“People from many nations will pass by
this city. They will ask one another, ‘Why has
the Lord done such a terrible thing to
Jerusalem? Jerusalem was such a great city.’
9This will be the answer to that question:
‘God destroyed Jerusalem because the people
of Judah quit following the Agreement* of the
Lord their God. Those people worshiped and
served other gods.’”
Judgment Against King Jehoahaz
10 Don’t cry for the king that has died.*
Don’t cry for him.
But cry very hard for the king
that must leave this place.*
Cry for him
because he will never come back again.
Jehoahaz will never see his homeland again.
11This is what the Lord says about Shallum
(Jehoahaz) son of Josiah. (Shallum became
king of Judah after his father Josiah died.)
“Jehoahaz has gone away from Jerusalem. He
will never come back to Jerusalem again.
12Jehoahaz will die in the place where the
Egyptians have taken him. He will not see this
land again.”
Judgment Against King Jehoiakim
13 It will be very bad for King Jehoiakim.
He is doing bad things
so he can build his palace.*
He is cheating people
so he can build rooms upstairs.
He is making his own people
work for nothing.
He is not paying them for their work.
Agreement Literally, “Proof.” The flat stones with the Ten
Commandments written on them were proof of the Agreement
between God and Israel.
king that has died This means King Josiah that was killed in
battle against the Egyptians in 609 B.C.
king … place This means Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz. He became
king after Josiah died. He is also called Shallum. Neco, the
king of Egypt, defeated Josiah. And Neco took Jehoahaz off
the throne of Judah and made him a prisoner in Egypt.

14 Jehoiakim says,
‘I will build a great palace for myself.
I will have large upper rooms.’
So he builds the house with
large windows.
He uses cedar word for paneling,
and he paints it red.
15 “Jehoiakim,
having a lot of cedar in your house
does not make you a great king.
Your father Josiah was satisfied
to have food and drink.
He did what was right and fair.
Josiah did that,
so everything went well for him.
16 Josiah helped the poor and needy people.
Josiah did that,
so everything went well for him.
Jehoiakim, what does it mean
“to know God?”
It means living right and being fair.
That is what it means to know me.
This message is from the Lord.
17 “Jehoiakim, your eyes look
only for what benefits yourself.
You are always thinking about
getting more for yourself.
You are willing to kill innocent people.
You are willing to steal things
from other people.”
18 So this is what the Lord says
to King Jehoiakim son of Josiah:
“The people of Judah will not cry
for Jehoiakim.
They will not say to each another,
‘Oh, my brother,
{I am so sad about Jehoiakim}!
Oh, my sister,
{I am so sad about Jehoiakim}!’
The people of Judah will not cry
for Jehoiakim.
They will not say about him,
‘Oh, master, {I am so sad}!
Oh, King, {I am so sad}!’
19 The people of Jerusalem will bury
Jehoiakim
like they were burying a donkey.
889 JEREMIAH 22:14–24
They will just drag his body away
and throw it outside the gates
of Jerusalem.
20 “Judah, go up to the mountains of Lebanon
and cry out.
Let your voice be heard
in the mountains of Bashan.
Cry out in the mountains of Abarim.
Why? Because your ‘lovers’
will all be destroyed.
21 Judah, you felt safe.
But I warned you!
I warned you,
but you refused to listen.
You have lived like this
from the time you were young.
And from the time you were young,
you have not obeyed me, Judah.
22 Judah, the punishment I give
will come like a storm.
And it will blow all your shepherds away.
You thought some of the other nations
would help you.
But those nations will also be defeated.
Then you will really be disappointed.
You will be ashamed of all the bad things
that you did.
23 King, you live high on the mountain
in your house made from cedar wood.
It is almost like you live in Lebanon
where that wood came from.
{You think you are safe,
high on the mountain in your big house.}
But you will really groan
when your punishment comes.
You will hurt like a woman
giving birth to a baby.”
Judgment Against King Jehoiachin
24“As surely as I live,” this message is from
the Lord, “I will do this to you, Jehoiachin son
of Jehoiakim, king of Judah: Even if you were a
signet ring* on my right hand, I would still pull
signet ring A special ring worn by a king. The design on the
ring could be pressed into a bit of clay or warm wax and leave
an impression of the design. This was like a person’s
signature—so the ring was very important.

JEREMIAH 22:25–23:10 890
you off. 25Jehoiachin, I will give you to
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and the
Babylonians. Those are the people you are
afraid of. Those people want to kill you. 26I will
throw you and your mother into another country
where neither of you was born. You and your
mother will die in that country. 27Jehoiachin,
you will want to come back to your land—but
you will never be allowed to come back.”
28
29
Coniah (Jehoiachin) is like a broken pot
that some person threw away.
He is like a pot that no person wants.
Why will Jehoiachin and his children
be thrown out?
Why will they be thrown away
into a foreign land?
Land, land, land of Judah!
Listen to the message of the Lord!
30 The Lord says,
“Write this down about Jehoiachin:
‘He is a man that has no children
anymore!
Jehoiachin will not be successful
in his lifetime.
And none of his children
will sit on the throne of David.
None of his children
will rule in Judah.’”
“It will be very bad for the shepherds
23 (leaders) of the people of Judah. Those
shepherds are destroying the sheep. They are
making the sheep run from my pasture in all
directions.” This message is from the Lord.
2Those shepherds (leaders) are responsible
for my people. And the Lord, the God of
Israel, says these things to those shepherds:
“You shepherds (leaders) have made my
sheep run away in all directions. You have
forced them to go away. And you have not
taken care of them. But I will take care of
you—I will punish you for the bad things you
did.” This message is from the Lord: 3“I sent
my sheep (people) to other countries. But I
will gather together my sheep that are left.
And I will bring them back to their pasture
(country). When my sheep are back in their
pasture, they will have many children and
grow in number. 4I
(leaders) over my sheep. Those shepherds
will take care of my sheep. And my sheep
will not be scared or afraid. None of my sheep
will be lost.” This message is from the Lord.
The Righteous “Sprout”
5 This message is from the Lord,
“The time is coming,”
“when I will raise up a good ‘sprout.’*
6
He will be a king
who will rule in a wise way.
He will do what is fair and right
in the land.
In the time of that good ‘sprout,’
the people of Judah will be saved.
And Israel will live in safety.
This will be his name:
The Lord is our Goodness.*
7“So the time is coming,” this message is
from the Lord, “when people won’t say the
old promise by the Lord any more. The old
promise is: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the
Lord is the One who brought the people of
Israel out of the land of Egypt.’
will place new shepherds
8But people
will say something new. They will say, ‘As
surely as the Lord lives, the Lord is the One
who brought the people of Israel out of the
land of the north. He brought them out of all
the countries where he had sent them.’ Then
the people of Israel will live in their own
land.”
9
10
Judgments Against False Prophets
A message to the prophets:
I am very sad—my heart is broken.
All my bones are shaking.
I (Jeremiah) am like a man that is drunk.
Why? Because of the Lord
and his holy words.
The land of Judah is full of people that do
the sin of adultery.*
They are unfaithful in many ways.
sprout This means a new king from the family of David.
The Lord is our Goodness This is a word play. In Hebrew, this
is like the name Zedekiah, the king of Judah at the time that
this prophecy was probably given. But Jeremiah is talking
about another king.
adultery Breaking the marriage promise by sexual sin.

The Lord cursed the land,
and it became very dry.
The plants are dried and dying
in the pastures.
The fields have become like the desert.
The prophets are evil.
Those prophets use their influence
and power in the wrong way.
11 “The prophets and even the priests are evil.
I have seen them doing evil things
in my own temple.”
This message is from the Lord.
12 “{I will stop giving my messages to them.}
It will be like they must walk
in darkness.
It will be like the road is slippery
for those prophets and priests.
And they will fall in that darkness.
I will bring disaster on them.
I will punish those prophets and priests.”
This message is from the Lord.
13 “I saw the prophets of Samaria*
doing wrong things.
I saw those prophets prophesy*
in the name of the false god Baal.*
Those prophets led the people of Israel
away from the Lord.
14 Now I have seen the prophets of Judah
do those terrible things in Jerusalem.
These prophets do the sin of adultery.*
They listened to lies—and they obeyed
those false teachings.
They encourage wicked people
to continue doing evil things.
So the people did not stop sinning.
They are like the people of Sodom*.
Now Jerusalem is like Gomorrah* to me.”
15 So, this is what the Lord All-Powerful says
about the prophets:
Samaria The capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. This
kingdom was destroyed by God because its people did many
bad things.
prophesy To speak for God or for a false god.
Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought
the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land
produce good crops.
adultery Breaking the marriage promise by sexual sin.
Sodom, Gomorrah Two cities that God destroyed because the
people were so evil. See Gen. 19.
891 JEREMIAH 23:11–20
“I will punish those prophets.
The punishment will be
like eating poisoned food and water.
The prophets started a spiritual sickness.
And that sickness spread through
the whole country.
So I will punish those prophets.
That sickness came from the prophets
in Jerusalem.”
16 The Lord All-Powerful says these things:
“Don’t pay attention to the things
that those prophets are saying to you.
They are trying to fool you.
Those prophets talk about visions.*
But they did not get their visions
from me.
Their visions come from their own minds.
17 Some of the people hate
the real messages from the Lord.
So those prophets give a different message
to those people.
They say,
‘You will have peace.’
Some of the people are very stubborn.
They do only the things they want to do.
So those prophets say,
‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’
18 But none of those prophets
has stood in the heavenly council.*
None of them has seen or heard
the message of the Lord.
None of them has paid close attention
to the Lord’s message.
19 Now the punishment from the Lord
will come like a storm.
The Lord’s anger will be like a tornado.
It will come crashing down
on the heads of those wicked people.
20 The Lord’s anger will not stop
until he finishes what he plans to do.
When that day is over,
you will understand this clearly.
vision(s) Something like a dream that God used to speak to
people.
heavenly council The people in the Old Testament often talk
about God like he was the leader of a council of heavenly
beings (angels). Compare 1 Kings 22:19-23; Isa. 6:1-8; and
Job chapters 1 and 2.

JEREMIAH 23:21–40
21 I did not send those prophets.
But they ran {to tell their messages}.
I did not speak to them.
But they preached in my name.
22 If they had stood in my heavenly council,
then they would have told my messages
to the people of Judah.
They would have stopped the people
from doing bad things.
They would have stopped them
from doing evil.”
23 “I am God, and I am always near!”
This message is from the Lord.
“I am not far away!
24 A person might try to hide from me
in some hiding place.
But it is easy for me to see him.
Why? Because I am everywhere
in heaven and earth!”
The Lord said these things.
25“There are prophets that preach lies in my
name. They say, ‘I have had a dream! I have
had a dream!’ I heard them say those things.
26How long will this continue? Those
prophets think up lies. And then they teach
those lies to the people. 27These prophets are
trying to make the people of Judah forget my
name. They are doing this by telling each
other these false dreams. They are trying to
make my people forget me in the same way
that their ancestors* forgot me. Their
ancestors forgot me and worshiped the false
god Baal.* 28Straw is not the same thing as
wheat! In the same way, those prophets’
dreams are not messages from me. If a person
wants to tell about his dreams, then let him.
But let the man that hears my message speak
my message truthfully. 29My message is like a
fire.” This message is from the Lord. “It is like
a hammer that smashes a rock.
30“So I am against the false prophets.” This
message is from the Lord. “These prophets
keep stealing my words from one another. 31I
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought
the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land
produce good crops.
892
am against the false prophets.” This message is
from the Lord. “They use their own words and
pretend that it is a message from me. 32I am
against the false prophets that preach fake
dreams.” This message is from the Lord. “They
mislead my people with their lies and false
teachings. I did not send those prophets to
teach the people. I never commanded them to
do anything for me. They can’t help the people
of Judah at all.” This message is from the Lord.
The Sad Message from the Lord
33“The people of Judah, or a prophet, or a
priest may ask you, ‘Jeremiah, what is the
announcement of the Lord?’ You will answer
them and say, ‘You are a heavy load* to the
Lord. And I will throw down this heavy load.’
This message is from the Lord.
34“A prophet, or a priest, or maybe one of the
people might say, ‘This is an announcement
from the Lord …’ {That person lied,} so I will
punish that person and his whole family. 35This
is what you will say to one another: ‘What did
the Lord answer?’ or ‘What did the Lord say?’
36But you will never again use the expression,
‘The announcement (heavy load) of the Lord.’
This is because the Lord’s message should not
be a heavy load for anyone. But you changed
the words of our God. He is the living God, the
Lord All-Powerful!
37“If you want to learn about God’s message,
then ask a prophet, ‘What answer did the Lord
give you?’ or ‘What did the Lord say?’ 38But
don’t say, ‘What was the announcement (heavy
load) from the Lord?’ If you use these words,
then the Lord will say these things to you: ‘You
should not have called my message an
‘announcement (heavy load) from the Lord.’ I
told you not to use those words. 39But you
called my message a heavy load, so I will pick
you up like a heavy load and throw you away
from me. I gave the city of Jerusalem to your
ancestors.* But I will throw you and that city
away from me. 40And I will make you a
disgrace forever. You will never forget your
embarrassment.’”
heavy load This is a word play. The Hebrew word for
“announcement” is like the word translated “heavy load.”

893 JEREMIAH 24:1–25:9
The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
The Lord showed me these things: I
24 saw two baskets of figs arranged in
front of the temple* of the Lord. (I saw this
vision after Nebuchadnezzar, the king of
Babylon, took Jeconiah* as a prisoner.
Jeconiah was the son of King Jehoiakim.
Jeconiah and his important officials were
taken away from Jerusalem. They were taken
to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also took away
all the carpenters and metal-workers of
Judah.) 2One basket had very good figs in it.
Those figs were like figs that ripen early in the
season. But the other basket had rotten figs.
They were too rotten to eat.
3The Lord said to me, “What do you see,
Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see figs. The good
figs are very good. And the rotten figs are
very rotten. They are too rotten to eat.”
4Then the message of the Lord came to me.
5The Lord, the God of Israel, said: “The
people of Judah were taken from their
country. Their enemy brought them to
Babylon. Those people will be like these good
figs. I will be kind to those people. 6I will
protect them. I will bring them back to the
land of Judah. I will not tear them down—I
will build them up. I will not pull them up—I
will plant them so they can grow. 7I
10I will send a sword, starvation, and disease
against them. I will attack them until they have
all been killed. Then they will no longer be on
the land which I gave to them and to their
ancestors.*
A Summary of Jeremiah’s Preaching
This is the message that came to
25Jeremiah concerning all of the people of
Judah. This message came in the fourth year*
that Jehoiakim was king of Judah. Jehoiakim
was the son of Josiah. The fourth year of his
time as king was the first year that
Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.
will make
them want to know me. They will know that I
am the Lord. They will be my people, and I
will be their God. I will do this because those
prisoners in Babylon will turn to me with
their whole hearts.
8“But Zedekiah king of Judah will be like
those figs that are too rotten to eat. Zedekiah,
his high officials, all the people that are left in
Jerusalem, and those people of Judah that are
living in Egypt will be like those rotten figs.
9“I will punish those people. The punishment
will shock all the people on earth. People will
make fun of those people from Judah. People
will tell jokes about them. People will curse
them in all the places where I scatter them.
2This is
the message that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to
all the people of Judah and all the people of
Jerusalem:
3I have given you messages from the Lord
again and again for these past 23 years. I have
been a prophet since the 13th year that Josiah
son of Amon was the king of Judah. I have
spoken messages from the Lord to you from
that time until today. But you have not
listened. 4The Lord has sent his servants, the
prophets, to you over and over again. But you
have not listened to them. You have not paid
any attention to them.
5Those prophets said, “Change your lives!
Stop doing those bad things! If you change,
then you can return to the land which the Lord
gave you and your ancestors* long ago. He
gave you this land to live in forever. 6Don’t
follow other gods. Don’t serve or worship
them. Don’t worship idols that some person
has made. That only makes me angry at you.
Doing this only hurts yourselves.”*
7“But you did not listen to me.” This
message is from the Lord. “You worshiped
idols that some person made. And that made
me angry. And that only hurt you.”
8So, this is what the Lord All-Powerful says,
“You have not listened to my messages. 9So I
will soon send for all the family groups of the
temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.
Jeconiah This is another name for King Jehoiachin. Jehoiachin
was taken prisoner in the year 597 B.C.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
fourth year This was the year 605 B.C.
Doing this only hurts yourselves Following the ancient Greek
translation. The Hebrew reads, “Then I will not hurt you.”

JEREMIAH 25:10–29
894
north.*” This message is from the Lord. “I will
soon send for Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon. He is my servant. I will bring those
people against the land of Judah and against the
people of Judah. I will bring them against all
the nations around you too. I will destroy all of
those countries. I will make those lands like an
empty desert forever. People will see those
countries, and whistle at how badly they were
destroyed. 10I will bring an end to the sounds of
joy and happiness in those places. There will be
no more happy sounds of the brides and
bridegrooms. I will take away the sound of
people grinding meal. I will take away the light
of the lamp. 11That whole area will be an empty
desert. All of those people will be slaves of the
king of Babylon for 70 years.
12“But when the 70 years have passed, I
will punish the king of Babylon. I will punish
the nation of Babylon.” This message is from
the Lord. “I will punish the land of the
Babylonians for their sins. I will make that
land a desert forever. 13I have said many bad
things will happen to Babylon. All of those
things will happen. Jeremiah preached about
those foreign nations. And all of those
warnings are written in this book. 14Yes, the
people of Babylon will have to serve many
nations and many great kings. I will give them
the punishment they deserve for all the things
they will do.”
Judgment on the Nations of the World
15The Lord, the God of Israel, said these
things to me: “Jeremiah, take this cup of wine
from my hand. It is the wine of my anger. I am
sending you to different nations. Make all
those nations drink from this cup. 16They will
drink this wine. Then they will vomit and act
like crazy people. They will do this because of
the sword that I will soon send against them.”
17So I took the cup of wine from the Lord’s
hand. I went to those nations and I made those
people drink from the cup. 18I
from the cup. I did this so that they would
become an empty desert. I did this so that
place would be destroyed so badly that people
would whistle about it and say curses about
that place. And it happened—Judah is like
that now!
19I also made Pharaoh king of Egypt drink
from the cup. I made his officials, his important
leaders, and all his people drink from the cup
of the Lord’s anger.
20I also made all the Arabs and all of the
kings of the land of Uz drink from the cup.
I also made all the kings of the land of the
Philistines drink from the cup. These were the
kings of the cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron,
and what remains of the city Ashdod.
21Then I made the people of Edom, Moab,
and Ammon drink from the cup.
22I made all the kings of Tyre and Sidon
drink from the cup.
I also made all the kings of the faraway
countries drink from that cup.
poured this
wine for the people of Jerusalem and Judah. I
made the kings and leaders of Judah drink
23I made the
people of Dedan, Tema, and Buz drink from
the cup. I made all those that cut their hair at
their temples drink from the cup. 24I made all
the kings of Arabia drink from the cup. These
kings live in the desert. 25I made all the kings
from Zimri, Elam, and Media drink from the
cup. 26I made all the kings of the north, those
that were near and far, drink from the cup. I
made them drink one after the other. I made
all the kingdoms that are on earth drink from
the cup of the anger of the Lord. But the king
of Babylon will drink from this cup after all
of these other nations.
27“Jeremiah, say to those nations, this is
what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the
people of Israel, says, ‘Drink this cup of my
anger. Get drunk from it and vomit! Fall
down and don’t get up. Don’t get up because I
am sending a sword to kill you.’
28“Those people will refuse to take the cup
from your hand. They will refuse to drink it.
But you will say to them, ‘The Lord All-
Powerful says these things: You will indeed
drink from this cup! 29I am already making
these bad things happen to Jerusalem, the city
that is called by my name. Maybe you people
think that you will not be punished. But you
are wrong. You will be punished. I am calling
north This refers to the army of Babylon coming from the north
to attack the nation of Judah.

out a sword to attack all the people of the
earth.’” This message is from the Lord.
30 “Jeremiah, you will give them this message:
‘The Lord shouts from above.
He shouts from his holy temple!
The Lord shouts at his pasture (people)!
His shouts are loud like the songs of
people walking on grapes
to make wine.
31 The noise spreads to all the people on earth.
What is all the noise about?
The Lord is punishing the people
from all the nations.
The Lord told his arguments
against the people.
He judged the people.
And now he is killing the evil people
with a sword.’”
This message is from the Lord.
32 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Disasters will soon spread
from country to country.
They will come like a powerful storm
to all the faraway places on earth!”
33The dead bodies of those people will
reach from one end of the country to the
other. No person will cry for those dead
people. No person will gather up their bodies
and bury them. They will be left lying on the
ground like dung.
34 Shepherds (leaders), you should be leading
the sheep (people).
Start crying you great leaders!
Roll around on the ground in pain,
you leaders of the sheep (people).
Why? Because it is now time
for your slaughter.*
{I will scatter your sheep.}
They will scatter everywhere,
like pieces flying from a broken jar.
35 There will be no place for the shepherds
to hide.
Those leaders will not escape.
slaughter Usually, this means to kill an animal and cut it into
pieces of meat. But it often means to kill people like they
are animals.
895 JEREMIAH 25:30–26:8
36 I hear the shepherds (leaders) shouting.
I hear the leaders of the sheep (people)
crying.
The Lord is destroying
their pastures (country).
37 Those peaceful pastures are like
an empty desert.
This happened because the Lord is angry.
38 The Lord is like a dangerous lion
leaving his cave.
The Lord is angry!
And that anger will hurt those people.
Their country will be an empty desert.
Jeremiah’s Lesson at the Temple
This message came from the Lord
26during the first year that Jehoiakim was
king* of Judah. Jehoiakim was the son of
King Josiah. 2The Lord said: “Jeremiah, stand
in the temple* yard of the Lord. Give this
message to all the people of Judah that are
coming to worship at the temple of the Lord.
Tell them everything that I tell you to speak.
Don’t leave out any part of my message.
3Maybe they will listen and obey my
message. Maybe they will stop living such
evil lives. If they change, then I might change
my mind about my plans to punish them. I am
planning this punishment because of many
bad things those people have done. 4You will
say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I
gave my teachings to you. You must obey me
and follow my teachings. 5You must listen to
the things my servants say to you. (The
prophets are my servants.) I have sent
prophets to you again and again, but you did
not listen to them. 6If you don’t obey me, then
I will make my temple in Jerusalem just like
my Holy Tent at Shiloh.* People all over the
world will think of Jerusalem when they ask
for bad things to happen to other cities.’”
7The priests, the prophets, and all the
people heard Jeremiah say all of these words
at the Lord’s temple.* 8Jeremiah finished
first year that Jehoiakim was king This was 609 B.C.
temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.
my Holy Tent at Shiloh The holy place at Shiloh was probably
destroyed during the time of Samuel. See Jer. 7 and 1 Sam. 4.

JEREMIAH 26:9–24
896
speaking everything the Lord had commanded
him to say to the people. Then the priests, the
prophets, and all the people grabbed Jeremiah.
They said, “You will die for saying such
terrible things! 9How dare you preach such a
thing in the name of the Lord! How dare you
say that this temple will be destroyed like the
one at Shiloh! How dare you say that
Jerusalem will become a desert with no people
living in it!” All the people gathered around
Jeremiah in the temple of the Lord.
10Now the rulers of Judah heard about all of
the things that were happening. So they came
out of the king’s palace. They went up to the
Lord’s temple. There, they took their places at
the entrance of the New Gate. The New Gate
is a gate leading to the Lord’s temple. 11Then
the priests and the prophets spoke to the rulers
and all the other people. They said, “Jeremiah
should be killed. He said bad things about
Jerusalem. You heard him say those things.”
12Then Jeremiah spoke to all the rulers of
Judah and all the other people. He said, “The
Lord sent me to say these things about this
temple and this city. Everything that you have
heard is from the Lord. 13You people change
your lives! You must start doing good things!
You must obey the Lord your God. If you do
that, then the Lord will change his mind. The
Lord will not do the bad things he told you
about. 14As for me, I am in your power. Do to
me what you think is good and right. 15But if
you kill me, be sure of one thing. You will be
guilty of killing an innocent person. You will
make this city and everyone that lives in it
guilty, too. The Lord really did send me to you.
The message you heard really is from the Lord.”
16Then the rulers and all the people spoke.
Those people said to the priests and the
prophets, “Jeremiah must not be killed. The
things Jeremiah told us come from the Lord
our God.”
17Then some of the elders (leaders) stood
up and spoke to all the people. 18They
The Lord All-Powerful says:
“Zion* will be destroyed.
It will become a plowed field.
Jerusalem will become a pile of rocks.
Temple Mount will be an empty
hill* overgrown with bushes.”
Micah 3:12
19“Hezekiah was the king of Judah. And
Hezekiah didn’t kill Micah. None of the
people of Judah killed Micah. You know that
Hezekiah respected the Lord. He wanted to
please the Lord. The Lord had said he would
do bad things to Judah. But Hezekiah prayed
to the Lord, and the Lord changed his mind.
The Lord didn’t do those bad things. If we
hurt Jeremiah, then we will bring many
troubles on ourselves. And those troubles will
be our own fault.”
20In the past, there was another man that
preached the Lord’s message. His name was
Uriah. He was the son of a man named
Shemaiah. Uriah was from the city of Kiriath
Jearim. Uriah preached the same things
against this city and this land as Jeremiah
did.
said,
“Micah the prophet was from the city of
Moresheth. Micah was a prophet during the
time that Hezekiah was king of Judah. Micah
said these things to all the people of Judah:
21King Jehoiakim and his army officers
and the leaders of Judah heard Uriah preach.
They became angry. King Jehoiakim wanted
to kill Uriah. But Uriah heard that Jehoiakim
wanted to kill him. Uriah was afraid, so he
escaped to the land of Egypt. 22But King
Jehoiakim sent a man named Elnathan and
some other men to Egypt. Elnathan was the
son of a man named Acbor. 23Those men
brought Uriah from Egypt. Then those men
took Uriah to King Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim
ordered Uriah to be killed with a sword.
Uriah’s body was thrown into the burial place
where poor people are buried.
24There was an important man named
Ahikam son of Shaphan. Ahikam supported
Jeremiah. So Ahikam kept Jeremiah from
being killed by the priests and prophets.
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.
empty hill Or, “high place,” a term usually used for local shrines
(places for worship) where people often worshiped idols.

The Lord Made Nebuchadnezzar Ruler
A message from the Lord came to
27Jeremiah. It came during the fourth
year that Zedekiah was king of Judah.*
Zedekiah was the son of King Josiah. 2This is
what the Lord said to me: “Jeremiah, make a
yoke* out of straps and poles. Put that yoke
on the back of your neck. 3Then send
messages to the kings of Edom, Moab,
Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Send the messages
with the messengers of these kings that have
come to Jerusalem to see Zedekiah king of
Judah. 4Tell those messengers to give this
message to their masters. Tell them, ‘The
Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says:
Tell your masters that 5I made the earth and
all the people on it. I made all the animals on
the earth. I did this with my great power and
my strong arm. I can give the earth to anyone
I want. 6Now I have given all your countries
to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He is my
servant. I will make even the wild animals
obey him. 7All nations will serve
Nebuchadnezzar and his son and his
grandson. Then the time will come for
Babylon to be defeated. Many nations and
great kings will make Babylon their servant.
8“‘But now, some nations or kingdoms
might refuse to serve Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon. They might refuse to put his
yoke* on their necks. If that happens, this is
what I will do: I will punish that nation with
sword, hunger, and terrible sickness.’” This
message is from the Lord. “I will do that until
I destroy that nation. I will use
Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the nation that
fights against him. 9So don’t listen to your
prophets. Don’t listen to the people that use
magic to tell what will happen in the future.
Don’t listen to people that say they can
interpret dreams. Don’t listen to people that
talk to the dead or to people that practice
897 JEREMIAH 27:1–18
magic. All those people tell you, “You will
not be slaves to the king of Babylon.” 10But
those people are telling you lies. They will
only cause you to be taken far from your
homeland. I will force you to leave your
homes. And you will die in another land.
11“‘But the nations that put their necks
under the yoke* of the king of Babylon and
obey him will live. I will let those nations stay
in their own country and serve the king of
Babylon.’” This message is from the Lord.
“‘The people from those nations will live in
their own land and farm it.
12“‘I gave the same message to Zedekiah
king of Judah. I said, “Zedekiah, you must
place your neck under the yoke* of the king
of Babylon and obey him. If you serve the
king of Babylon and his people, then you will
live. 13If you don’t agree to serve the king of
Babylon, then you and your people will die
from the enemy’s sword, from hunger, and
from terrible sicknesses. The Lord said those
things will happen. 14But the false prophets
are saying: You will never be slaves to the
king of Babylon.
“‘Don’t listen to those prophets, because
they are preaching lies to you. 15I didn’t send
those prophets.’” This message is from the
Lord. “They are preaching lies and saying that
the message is from me. So, I will send you
people of Judah away. You will die. And those
prophets that preach to you will die also.”
16Then I (Jeremiah) said to the priests and
all those people, “The Lord says: Those false
prophets are saying, ‘The Babylonians took
many things from the Lord’s temple.* Those
things will be brought back soon.’ Don’t
listen to those prophets because they are
preaching lies to you. 17Don’t listen to those
prophets. Serve the king of Babylon. Accept
your punishment, and you will live. There is
no reason for you to cause this city of
Jerusalem to be destroyed. 18If those men are
prophets and have the message from the Lord,
let them pray. Let them pray about the things
that are still in the Lord’s temple. Let them
pray about the things that are still in the
king’s palace. And let them pray about the
the fourth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah The
Hebrew has, “At the beginning of the kingship of Jehoiakim.”
This is probably a scribal error. Vs. 3 talks about Zedekiah.
Jer. 28:1 mentions the fourth year: 594–593 B.C.
yoke A pole that was put on the shoulders of men or animals to
help them carry or pull things. This often showed that a
person was a slave. temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.

JEREMIAH 27:19–28:13 898
things that are still in Jerusalem. Let those
prophets pray that all those things will not be
taken away to Babylon.”
19The Lord All-Powerful says this about
those things that are still left in Jerusalem. In
the temple,* there are the pillars, the bronze
sea, the moveable stands, and other things.*
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, left those
things in Jerusalem. 20Nebuchadnezzar didn’t
take those things away at the time he took
Jehoiachin king of Judah away as a prisoner.
Jehoiachin was the son of King Jehoiakim.
Nebuchadnezzar also took other important
people away from Judah and Jerusalem. 21The
Lord All-Powerful, the God of the people of
Israel, says this about the things still left in the
Lord’s temple, and in the king’s palace and in
Jerusalem: “All of those things will also be
taken to Babylon. 22Those things will be
brought to Babylon until the day comes when I
go to get them.” This message is from the
Lord. “Then I will bring those things back. I
will put those things back in this place.”
The False Prophet Hananiah
In the fifth month of the fourth year*
28that Zedekiah was king of Judah,
Hananiah the prophet spoke to me. Hananiah
was the son of a man named Azzur. Hananiah
was from the town of Gibeon. Hananiah was
in the Lord’s temple when he spoke to me.
The priests and all the people were there also.
This is what Hananiah said: 2“The Lord All-
Powerful, the God of the people of Israel,
says: ‘I will break the yoke* that the king of
Babylon has put on the people of Judah.
3Before two years are over, I will bring back
all the things that Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon took from the Lord’s temple.
Nebuchadnezzar has carried those things to
Babylon. But I will bring those things back
here to Jerusalem. 4I
Jehoiachin is the son of Jehoiakim. And I will
bring back all those people of Judah that
Nebuchadnezzar forced to leave their homes
and go to Babylon.’ This message is from the
Lord. ‘So I will break the yoke that the king
of Babylon put on the people of Judah!’”
5Then the prophet Jeremiah answered the
prophet Hananiah. They were standing in the
temple of the Lord. The priests and all the
people there could hear Jeremiah’s answer.
6Jeremiah said to Hananiah, “Amen!* I hope
the Lord will really do that! I hope the Lord
will make the message you preach come true.
I hope the Lord will bring the things of the
Lord’s temple* back to this place from
Babylon. And I hope the Lord will bring all
the people that were forced to leave their
homes back to this place.
7“But listen to what I must say, Hananiah.
Listen to what I say to all you people.
will also bring
Jehoiachin king of Judah back to this place.
8There
were prophets long before you and I became
prophets, Hananiah. They preached that war,
hunger, and terrible sicknesses would come to
many countries and great kingdoms. 9But the
prophet that preaches that we will have peace
must be tested to see if he truly was sent by
the Lord. If the message of that prophet
comes true, then people can know that he
truly was sent by the Lord.”
10Jeremiah was wearing a yoke* around his
neck. Then the prophet Hananiah took that
yoke from Jeremiah’s neck. Hananiah broke
that yoke. 11Then Hananiah spoke loudly, so
all the people could hear him. He said, “The
Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the
yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He
put that yoke on all the nations of the world.
But I will break that yoke before two years
are over.’”
After Hananiah said that, Jeremiah left the
temple.*
12Then the message of the Lord came to
Jeremiah. This happened after Hananiah had
taken the yoke* off of Jeremiah’s neck and
had broken it. 13The Lord said to Jeremiah,
“Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord
says: You have broken a wooden yoke. But I
temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.
pillars … other things For a description of these things, see 1
Kings 7:23–37.
fourth year This was about 593 B.C.
yoke A pole that was put on the shoulders of men or animals to
help them carry or pull things. This often showed that a person
was a slave.
Amen A Hebrew word meaning “truly,” “indeed.” It is used to
show that a person agrees with what has been said.

will make a yoke of iron in the place of the
wooden yoke.’ 14The Lord All-Powerful, the
God of Israel, says: ‘I will put a yoke of iron
on the necks of all these nations. I will do that
to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon. And they will be slaves to him. I
will even give Nebuchadnezzar control over
the wild animals.’”
15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the
prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The
Lord did not send you. But you have made the
people of Judah trust in lies. 16So this is what
the Lord says, ‘Soon I will take you from this
world, Hananiah. You will die this year.
Why? Because you taught the people to turn
against the Lord.’”
17Hananiah died in the seventh month of
that same year.
A Letter to the Jewish Captives in Babylon
Jeremiah sent a letter to the Jewish
29captives* in Babylon. He sent it to the
elders (leaders), the priests, the prophets, and
all the other people that were living in
Babylon. These were the people that
Nebuchadnezzar took from Jerusalem and
brought to Babylon. 2(This letter was sent
after King Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the
officials and the leaders of Judah and
Jerusalem, the carpenters, and the metal
workers had been taken from Jerusalem.)
3Zedekiah sent Elasah and Gemariah to King
Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah was the king of
Judah. Elasah was the son of Shaphan. And
Gemariah was the son of Hilkiah. Jeremiah
gave the letter to those men to take to
Babylon. This is what the letter said:
4The Lord All-Powerful, the God of the
people of Israel, says these things to all those
people he sent into captivity from Jerusalem
to Babylon: 5“Build houses and live in them.
Settle in the land. Plant gardens and eat the
food you grow. 6Get married and have sons
and daughters. Find wives for your sons. And
let your daughters be married. Do that so they
also may have sons and daughters. Have
captives People that were taken away like prisoners. Here this
means the Jewish people that were taken to Babylon.
899 JEREMIAH 28:14–29:17
many children and grow in number in
Babylon. Don’t become fewer in number.
7Also, do good things for the city I sent you
to. Pray to the Lord for the city you are living
in. Why? Because if there is peace in that city,
then you will have peace also.” 8The Lord
All-Powerful, the God of the people of Israel,
says: “Don’t let your prophets and the people
that practice magic fool you. Don’t listen to
the dreams they have. 9They are preaching
lies. And they are saying that their message is
from me. But I didn’t send it.” This message
is from the Lord.
10This is what the Lord says:
“Babylon will be powerful for 70 years.
After that time, I will come to you
people that are living in Babylon. I will
keep my good promise to bring you back
to Jerusalem. 11I say this because I know
the plans that I have for you.” This
message is from the Lord. “I have good
plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. I
plan to give you hope and a good future.
12Then you people will call my name.
You will come to me and pray to me.
And I will listen to you. 13You people
will search for me. And when you search
for me with all your heart, you will find
me. 14I will let you find me.” This
message is from the Lord. “And I will
bring you back from your captivity. I
forced you to leave this place. But I will
gather you from all the nations and
places where I have sent you,”—this
message is from the Lord—“and I will
bring you back to this place.”
15You people might say, “But the
Lord has given us prophets here in
Babylon.” 16But the Lord says these
things about your relatives that were not
carried away to Babylon. I am talking
about the king that is sitting on David’s
throne now and all the other people that
are still in the city of Jerusalem. 17The
Lord All-Powerful says: “I will soon
send the sword, hunger, and terrible
sicknesses against those people that are
still in Jerusalem. And I will make them
the same as bad figs, which are too

JEREMIAH 29:18–32
rotten to eat. 18I will chase those people
that are still in Jerusalem with the
sword, with hunger, and terrible
sicknesses. And I will make it so that all
the kingdoms of the earth will be
frightened at what has happened to those
people. Those people will be destroyed.
People will whistle with amazement
when they hear about the things that
happened. And people use them as an
example when they ask for bad things to
happen to people. People will insult
them wherever I force those people to
go. 19I will make all those things happen
because those people of Jerusalem have
not listened to my message.” This
message is from the Lord. “I sent my
message to them again and again. I used
my servants, the prophets, to give my
messages to those people. But the people
didn’t listen.” This message is from the
Lord. 20“You people are captives.* I
forced you to leave Jerusalem and go to
Babylon. So, listen to the message from
the Lord.”
21The Lord All-Powerful says this
about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah
son of Maaseiah: “These two men have
been preaching lies to you. They have
said that their message is from me. {But
they were lying.} I will give those two
prophets to Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon. And Nebuchadnezzar will kill
those prophets in front of all you people
that are captives in Babylon. 22All of the
Jewish captives will use those men as
examples when they ask for bad things to
happen to other people. Those captives
will say: ‘May the Lord treat you like
Zedekiah and Ahab. The king of Babylon
burned those two in the fire!’ 23Those two
prophets did very bad things among the
people of Israel. They did the sin of
adultery* with their neighbors’ wives.
They also spoke lies and said those lies
captives People taken away like prisoners. Here this means the
Jewish people that were taken to Babylon.
adultery Breaking the marriage promise by sexual sin.
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were a message from me, the Lord. I did
not tell them to do those things. I know
what they have done. I am a witness.”
This message is from the Lord.
God’s Message to Shemaiah
24Also give a message to Shemaiah.
Shemaiah is from the Nehelam family. 25The
Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says:
“Shemaiah, you sent letters to all the people in
Jerusalem. And you sent letters to the priest
Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. You also sent
letters to all the priests. You sent those letters
in your own name and not by the authority of
the Lord. 26Shemaiah, this is what you said in
your letter to Zephaniah: ‘Zephaniah, the Lord
has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. You
are to be in charge of the Lord’s temple. You
should arrest anyone that acts like a crazy
person* and acts like a prophet. You should
put that person’s feet between large blocks of
wood and put neck-irons* on him. 27Now,
Jeremiah is acting like a prophet. So why have
you not arrested him? 28Jeremiah has sent this
message to us in Babylon: “You people in
Babylon will be there for a long time. So build
houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat
what you grow.’”
29Zephaniah the priest read the letter to
Jeremiah the prophet. 30Then the message
from the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31“Jeremiah,
send this message to all the captives* in
Babylon: ‘This is what the Lord says about
Shemaiah, the man from the Nehelam family:
Shemaiah has preached to you, but I didn’t
send him. Shemaiah has made you believe a
lie. 32Because Shemaiah has done that, this is
what the Lord says: I will soon punish
Shemaiah, the man from the Nehelam family.
I will completely destroy his family. And he
will not share in the good things I will do for
my people.’” This message is from the Lord.
“‘I will punish Shemaiah because he has
taught the people to turn against the Lord.’”
crazy person Shemaiah is referring to Jeremiah here. See
verses 27–28.
neck-iron(s) A ring made from iron. People put the rings
around prisoners necks. They often fastened a chain to the
ring to control the prisoners.

901 JEREMIAH 30:1–15
Promises of Hope
This is the message that came to
30Jeremiah from the Lord. 2The Lord, the
God of the people of Israel, said: “Jeremiah,
write in a book the words I have spoken to
you. Write this book for yourself. 3Do this
because the days will come”—this message is
from the Lord—“when I will bring my
people, Israel and Judah, back from exile.”*
This message is from the Lord. “I will put
those people back in the land that I gave to
their ancestors.* Then my people will own
that land again.”
4The Lord spoke this message about the
people of Israel and Judah. 5This is what the
Lord said:
“We hear people crying from fear!
People are scared!
There is no peace!
6 “Ask this question, and consider it:
Can a man have a baby? Of course not!
Then why do I see every strong man
holding his stomach
like a woman having labor pains?
Why is every person’s face turning white
like a dead man?
{Why? Because the men are very scared.}
7 “This is a very important time for Jacob.*
This is a time of great trouble.
There will never be another time like this.
But Jacob will be saved.
8“At that time,” this message is from the
Lord All-Powerful, “I will break the yoke*
from the necks of the people of Israel and
Judah. And I will break the ropes holding
you. People from foreign countries will never
again force my people to be slaves. 9The
Lord their God. And they will serve David
their king,* I will send that king to them.
10 “So, Jacob* my servant, don’t be afraid!”
This message is from the Lord.
“Israel, don’t be afraid.
I will save you from that faraway place.
You are captives* in that faraway land,
But I will save your descendants.*
{I will bring them back} from that land.
Jacob will have peace again.
People will not bother Jacob.
There will be no enemy to scare my people.
11 People of Israel and Judah, I am with you.”
This message is from the Lord.
“And I will save you.
I sent you to those nations.
But I will completely destroy
all those nations.
It is true, I will destroy those nations,
but I will not destroy you.
You must be punished
for the bad things you did.
But I will discipline you fairly.”
12 The Lord says:
“You people of Israel and Judah
have a wound that can’t be cured.
You have an injury that will not heal.
13 There is no person to care for your sores.
So you will not be healed.
14 You became friends with many nations.
But those nations don’t care about you.
Your ‘friends’ have forgotten you.
I hurt you like an enemy.
I punished you very hard.
I did this because of your great guilt.
I did this because of your many sins.
15 Israel and Judah, why are you yelling
about your wound?
Your wound is painful,
and there is no cure for it.
people of Israel and Judah will not serve I, the Lord, did these things to you
foreign countries. No! They will serve the because of your great guilt.
I did these things
because of your many sins.
exile Being forced to leave one’s home country.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
Jacob Another name for Israel. See Gen. 32:22–28.
yoke A pole that was put on the shoulders of men or animals to
help them carry or pull things. This often showed that a
person was a slave.
David their king This means another king of Israel, that will be
great like King David.
captives People that were taken away like prisoners. Here this
means the Jewish people that were taken to Babylon.
descendants A person’s children and their future families.

JEREMIAH 30:16–31:6
16 Those nations destroyed you,
but now they have been destroyed.
Israel and Judah,
your enemies will become captives.*
Those people stole things from you.
But other people will steal from them.
Those people took things from you in war.
But other people will take things
from them in war.
17 And I will bring your health back.
And I will heal your wounds.”
This message is from the Lord.
“Why? Because other people
said you were outcasts.*
Those people said,
‘No one cares about Zion.*’”
18 The Lord says:
“Jacob’s* people are now in captivity.
But they will come back.
And I will have pity on Jacob’s houses.
The city* is now only an empty hill
covered with ruined buildings.
But the city will be built again on its hill.
And the king’s house will be built again
where it should be.
19 People in those places
will sing songs of praise.
And there will be the sound of laughter.
I will give them many children.
Israel and Judah will not be small.
I will bring honor to them.
No person will look down on them.
20 Jacob’s family will be
like the family of Israel long ago.
I will make Israel and Judah strong,
and I will punish the people
that hurt them.
21 One of their own people will lead them.
That ruler will come from my people.
People can come close to me
only if I ask them to.
captives People that were taken away like prisoners. Here this
means the Jewish people that were taken to Babylon.
outcasts People that were thrown out of some special group of
people. Usually other people don’t like or respect outcasts.
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.
Jacob Another name for Israel. See Gen. 32:22–28.
city This probably refers to Jerusalem. But it might also mean
all of the cities of Israel and Judah.
902
So I will ask that leader to come to me,
and he will be close to me.
22 You will be my people.
And I will be your God.”
23 The Lord was very angry!
He punished the people.
The punishment came like a storm.
The punishment came like a tornado
against those wicked people.
24 The Lord will be angry
until he finishes punishing the people.
He will be angry until he finishes
the punishment he planned.
When that day comes,
you people of Judah will understand.
The New Israel
The Lord said these things, “At that
31time, I will be the God of all the family
groups of Israel. And they will be my people.”
2 The Lord says:
“The people who escaped the enemy’s sword
will find comfort in the desert.
Israel will go there looking for rest.”
3 From far away, the Lord
will appear to his people.
{The Lord says,}
“I love you people with a love
that continues forever.
That is why I have continued
showing you kindness.
4 Israel, my bride, I will build you again.
You will be a country again.
You will pick up your tambourines again.
You will dance with all the other people
that are having fun.
5 You farmers of Israel will plant
fields of grapes again.
You will plant those vineyards on the hills
around the city of Samaria.
And those farmers will enjoy the fruit
from those vineyards.
6 There will be a time when watchmen*
shout this message:
watchmen Usually this means a guard that stands on the city
walls watching for people coming to the city. But here it
probably means the prophets.

‘Come, let’s go up to Zion*
to worship the Lord our God!’
Even the watchmen in the hill country of
Ephraim* will shout that message.”
7 The Lord says:
“Be happy and sing for Jacob*!
Shout for Israel,
the greatest of the nations!
Sing your praises and shout:
‘The Lord saved his people!*
He has saved the people that are left alive
from the nation of Israel.’
8 Remember, I will bring Israel
from that country in the north.
I will gather the people of Israel
from the faraway places on earth.
Some of the people will be blind
and crippled.
Some of the women will be pregnant
and ready to give birth.
But many, many people will come back.
9 Those people will come back crying.
But I will lead them and comfort them.
I will lead those people by streams of water.
I will lead them on an easy road,
so that they will not stumble.
I will lead them in that way
because I am Israel’s father.
And Ephraim* is my firstborn son.
10 “Nations, listen to this message
from the Lord!
Tell this message in the faraway lands
by the sea:
‘God scattered the people of Israel
But God will bring them back together.
And he will watch over his flock (people)
like a shepherd.’
11 The Lord will bring Jacob* back.
The Lord will save his people from people
that were stronger than them.
12 The people of Israel will come
to the top of Zion,*
and they will shout with joy.
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.
Ephraim This means the northern kingdom of Israel.
Jacob Another name for Israel. See Gen. 32:22–28.
The Lord saved his people Or, “Lord, save your people!” This
is often a shout of victory.
903 JEREMIAH 31:7–18
Their faces will shine with happiness
about the good things the Lord
gives them.
The Lord will give them grain, new wine,
olive oil, young sheep, and cows.
They will be like a garden
that has plenty of water.
And the people of Israel will not
be troubled anymore.
13 Then the young women of Israel
will be happy and dance.
And the young men and old men
will join in the dancing.
I will change their sadness into happiness.
I will comfort the people of Israel.
I will change their sadness to happiness.
14 I will give the priests plenty of food.
And my people will be filled and satisfied
with the good things I give them.”
This message is from the Lord.
15 The Lord says:
“A sound will be heard in Ramah.
It will be bitter crying and
much sadness.
Rachel* will be crying for her children.
Rachel will refuse to be comforted,
because her children are dead.”
16 But the Lord says:
“Stop crying!
Don’t fill your eyes with tears!
You will be rewarded for your work!”
This message is from the Lord.
“The people of Israel will come back from
their enemy’s land.
17 Israel, there is hope for you.”
This message is from the Lord.
“Your children will come back
to their own land.
18 I have heard Ephraim* crying.
I heard Ephraim say these things:
‘Lord, you really punished me!
And I learned my lesson.
I was like a calf that was never trained.
Rachel Jacob’s wife. Here this means all the women that are
crying for their husbands and children that have died in the
war with Babylon.

JEREMIAH 31:19–34
Please stop punishing me,
and I will come back to you.
You truly are the Lord my God.
19 Lord, I wandered away from you.
But I learned about the bad things I did.
So I changed my heart and life.
Iamashamed and embarrassed about the
foolish things I did when I was young.’
20 {God says,}
“You know that Ephraim* is my dear son.
I love that child.
Yes, I often criticized Ephraim,
but I still think about him.
I love him very much.
And I really do want to comfort him.”
This message is from the Lord.
21 “People of Israel, fix the road signs.
Put up the signs that show the way home.
Watch the road.
Remember the road you are leaving on.
Israel, my bride, come home.
Come back to your towns.
22 Unfaithful daughter,
how long will you wander around?
{When will you come home?}”
When the Lord creates something new in
the land: A woman surrounding a man.*
23The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel,
says: “I will again do good things for the people
of Judah. I will bring back the people who were
taken away as prisoners. At that time, the
people in the land of Judah and in its towns will
once again use these words: ‘May the Lord
bless you, good home and holy mountain!’*
24“People in all the towns of Judah will live
together in peace. Farmers and those that move
around with their flocks will live peacefully
together in Judah. 25I will give rest and strength
to the people that are weak and tired.”
Ephraim This means the northern kingdom of Israel.
A woman surrounding a man This line is hard to understand.
It might be part of some saying that was familiar to the people
in Jeremiah’s time.
good home and holy mountain This was a blessing for the
temple and for Zion, the mountain the temple was built on.
904
26After hearing that, I (Jeremiah) woke up
and looked around. That was a very pleasant
sleep.
27“The days are coming,” this message is
from the Lord, “when I will help the family of
Israel and Judah to grow. I will help their
children and animals to grow too. It will be
like planting and caring for a plant. 28In the
past, I watched over Israel and Judah, but I
watched for the time to pull them up. I tore
them down. I destroyed them. I gave many
troubles to them. But now, I will watch over
them to build them up and make them
strong.” This message is from the Lord.
29“People won’t use this saying anymore:
The parents ate the sour grapes,
but the children got the sour taste.*
30No, each person will die for his own sin.
The person that eats sour grapes will get the
sour taste.”
The New Agreement
31The Lord said these things, “The time is
coming when I will make a new Agreement*
with the family of Israel, and with the family
of Judah. 32It will not be like the Agreement I
made with their ancestors.* I made that
Agreement when I took them by the hand and
brought them out of Egypt. I was their
Master, but they broke that Agreement.” This
message is from the Lord.
33“In the future, I will make this Agreement*
with the people of Israel.” This message is from
the Lord. “I will put my teachings in their
minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I
will be their God, and they will be my people.
34People will not have to teach their neighbors
and relatives to know the Lord. Why? Because
all people, from the least important to the
greatest, will know me.” This message is from
parents … sour taste This means that children were suffering
for the things their parents did.
Agreement Literally, “Proof.” The flat stones with the Ten
Commandments written on them were proof of the Agreement
between God and Israel.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.

905 JEREMIAH 31:35–32:9
the Lord. “I will forgive them for the bad things
they did. I won’t remember their sins.”
The Lord Will Never Leave Israel
35 The Lord says:
“The Lord makes the sun shine in the day.
And the Lord makes the moon and
the stars shine at night.
The Lord stirs up the sea so that its waves
crash on the shore.
The Lord All-Powerful is his name.”
The Lord says these things:
36
37
“The descendants* of Israel will never
stop being a nation.
That would happen only if I lost control
of the sun, moon, stars, and sea.”
The Lord says:
“I’ll never reject the descendants of Israel.
That would happen only if people could
measure the sky above,
and learn all the secrets
of the earth below.
Only then would I reject
the descendants of Israel.
Only then would I reject them
for the bad things they have done.”
This message is from the Lord.
The New Jerusalem
38This message is from the Lord, “The days
are coming when the city of Jerusalem will be
built again for the Lord. The whole city will
be built again—from the Tower of Hananel to
the Corner Gate. 39The measuring line* will
stretch from the Corner Gate straight to the
hill of Gareb and then turn to the place named
Gorah. 40The
Jeremiah Buys a Field
This is the message from the Lord that
32came to Jeremiah during the tenth year
that Zedekiah was king of Judah.* The tenth
year of Zedekiah was the 18th year of
Nebuchadnezzar.
whole valley where dead bodies
and ashes are thrown will be holy to the Lord.
And all the terraces down to the bottom of
Kidron Valley all the way to the corner of
Horse Gate will be included. All that area will
be holy to the Lord. The city of Jerusalem
will never again be torn down or destroyed.”
2At that time, the army of
the king of Babylon was surrounding the city
of Jerusalem. And Jeremiah was under arrest
in the courtyard of the guard. This courtyard
was at the palace of the king of Judah.
3(Zedekiah king of Judah had put Jeremiah in
prison in that place. Zedekiah didn’t like the
things Jeremiah prophesied.* Jeremiah had
said, “The Lord says: ‘I will soon give the
city of Jerusalem to the king of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar will capture this city.
4Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from
the army of the Babylonians. But he will
surely be given to the king of Babylon. And
Zedekiah will speak to the king of Babylon
face to face. Zedekiah will see him with his
own eyes. 5The king of Babylon will take
Zedekiah to Babylon. Zedekiah will stay there
until I have punished him.’ This message is
from the Lord. ‘If you fight against the army
of the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”)
6While Jeremiah was prisoner, he said,
“The message from the Lord came to me.
This was the message: 7Jeremiah, your
cousin, Hanamel, will come to you soon. He
is the son of your uncle Shallum. Hanamel
will say to you, ‘Jeremiah, buy my field near
the town of Anathoth. Buy it because you are
my nearest relative. It is your right and your
responsibility to buy that field.’
8“Then it happened just as the Lord said.
My cousin Hanamel came to me in the
courtyard of the guard. Hanamel said to me,
‘Jeremiah, buy my field near the town of
Anathoth, in the land of the family group of
Benjamin. Buy that land for yourself because
it is your right to buy it and own it.’”
So I knew that this was a message from the
Lord. 9I bought the field at Anathoth from my
cousin Hanamel. I weighed out 17 shekels* of
descendants A person’s children and their future families.
measuring line A rope or chain for measuring property lines.
tenth year … Judah This was 588–587 B.C. This was the year
Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.
prophesied Spoke for God.
shekel Or, “2/5 of an ounce.”

JEREMIAH 32:10–29
906
silver for him. 10I signed the deed.* And I had
a copy of the deed sealed up.* And I got some
men to witness the things I had done. And I
weighed out the silver on the scales. 11Then I
took the sealed copy of the deed and the copy
that was not sealed, 12and I gave them to
Baruch. Baruch was the son of Neriah. Neriah
was the son of Mahseiah. The sealed copy of
the deed had all the terms and conditions of
my purchase. I gave this deed to Baruch while
my cousin Hanamel and the other witnesses
were there. Those witnesses also signed the
deed. There were also many people of Judah
sitting in the courtyard that saw me give the
deed to Baruch.
13With all the people watching, I said to
Baruch: 14“The Lord All-Powerful, the God of
Israel, says: ‘Take both copies of the deed—the
sealed copy and the copy that was not sealed—
and put them in a clay jar. Do this so that these
deeds will last a long time.’ 15The Lord All-
Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘In the
future, my people will once again buy houses,
fields, and vineyards in the land of Israel.’”
16After I gave the deed to Baruch son of
Neriah I prayed to the Lord. I said:
17“Lord God, you made the skies and
the earth. You made them with your
great power. There is nothing too
wonderful for you to do. 18Lord, you are
loyal and kind to thousands of people.
But you also bring punishment to
children for their fathers’ sins. Great and
powerful God, your name is the Lord
All-Powerful. 19You plan and do great
things, Lord. You see everything that
people do. You give reward to people
that do good things and you punish
people that do bad things—you give
them what they deserve. 20Lord,
and you did those things wherever there
are people. You have become famous
because of these things.
you did
powerful miracles in the land of Egypt.
You have done powerful miracles even
until today. You did those things in Israel
21Lord, you used
powerful miracles and brought your
people Israel out of Egypt. You used
your own powerful hand to do those
things. Your power was amazing!
22“Lord, you gave this land to the
people of Israel. This is the land you
promised to give to their ancestors* long
ago. It is a very good land. It is a good land
with many good things. 23The people of
Israel came into this land and took it for
their own. But those people didn’t obey
you. They didn’t follow your teachings.
They didn’t do the things you commanded.
So you made all these terrible things
happen to the people of Israel.
24“And now, the enemy has surrounded
the city. They are building ramps, so that
they can get over the walls of Jerusalem
and capture it. By using their swords, and
hunger, and terrible sicknesses, the
Babylonian army will defeat the city of
Jerusalem. The Babylonian army is
attacking the city now. Lord, you said this
would happen—and now you see it is
happening.
25“Lord my Master, all of those bad
things are happening. But now you are
telling me, ‘Jeremiah, buy the field with
silver and choose some men to witness
the purchase.’ You are telling me this
while the Babylonian army is ready to
capture the city. {Why should I waste my
money like that?}”
26Then the message from the Lord came to
Jeremiah: 27“Jeremiah, I am the Lord. I am the
God of every person on the earth. Jeremiah,
you know that nothing is impossible for me.”
28The Lord also said, “I will soon give the city
of Jerusalem to the Babylonian army and to
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. That army
will capture the city. 29The Babylonian army
is already attacking the city of Jerusalem.
deed A piece of paper that proves a person owns a certain piece
of property.
sealed up Important documents were rolled up and tied with a
string. Then a piece of clay or wax was put on the string. Then
a person’s mark was put in that clay or wax. This way, people
could prove nothing in the document was changed.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.

They will soon enter the city and start a fire.
They will burn this city down. There are
houses in this city where the people of
Jerusalem made me angry by offering
sacrifices to the false god Baal* on the
housetops. And the people poured out drink
offerings to other idol gods. The Babylonian
army will burn down those houses. 30I have
watched the people of Israel and the people of
Judah. Everything they do is evil. They have
done evil things since they were young. The
people of Israel have made me very angry.
They have made me angry because they
worship idols that they made with their own
hands.” This message is from the Lord.
31“From the time that Jerusalem was built until
now, the people of this city have made me
angry. This city has made me so angry, I must
remove it from my sight. 32I will destroy
Jerusalem because of all the evil things the
people of Israel and Judah have done. The
people, their kings, leaders, their priests and
prophets, the men of Judah, and the people of
Jerusalem have all made me angry.
33“Those people should have come to me
for help. But they turned their backs to me. I
tried to teach those people again and again.
But they would not listen to me. I tried to
correct them, but they would not listen.
34Those people have made their idols—and I
hate those idols. They put their idols in the
temple* that is called by my name. In this
way, they made my temple ‘dirty.’
35“In the Valley of Ben Hinnom,* those
people built high places* to the false god
Baal.* They built those worship places so that
they could burn their sons and daughters as
child sacrifices. I never commanded them to do
Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought
the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land
produce good crops.
temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.
Valley of Ben Hinnom This valley is also called, “Gehenna.”
This name comes from the Hebrew name “Ge Hinnom—
Hinnom’s Valley.” This place became an example of how
God punishes wicked people.
high places Special places where the people worshiped false
gods. These places were often on hilltops, but not always.
Some ‘high places’ were in valleys.
907 JEREMIAH 32:30–44
such a terrible thing. I never even thought the
people of Judah would do such a terrible thing.
36“You people are saying, ‘The king of
Babylon will capture Jerusalem. He will use
swords, hunger, and terrible sicknesses to
defeat this city.’ But the Lord, the God of the
people of Israel, says: 37‘I have forced the
people of Israel and Judah to leave their land.
I was very angry with those people. But I will
bring them back to this place. I will gather
those people from the land where I forced
them to go. I will bring them back to this
place. I will let them live in peace and safety.
38The people of Israel and Judah will be my
people. And I will be their God. 39I will give
those people the desire to be truly one people.
They will have one goal—they will truly want
to worship me all their lives. They will truly
want to do this, and so will their children.
40“‘I will make an Agreement with the
people of Israel and Judah. This Agreement
will last forever. In this Agreement, I will
never turn away from those people. I will
always be good to them. I will make them want
to respect me. Then they will never turn away
from me. 41They will make me happy. I will
enjoy doing good to them. And I will surely
plant them in this land and make them grow. I
will do this with all my heart and soul.’”
42This is what the Lord says: “I have
brought this great disaster to the people of
Israel and Judah. In the same way, I will bring
good things to them. I promise to do good
things for them. 43You people are saying:
‘This land is an empty desert. There are no
people or animals here. The Babylonian army
defeated this country.’ But in the future,
people will once again buy fields in this land.
44People will use their money and buy fields.
They will sign and seal their agreements.
People will witness the people signing their
deeds.* People will again buy fields in the
land where the family group of Benjamin
lives. They will buy fields in the area around
Jerusalem. They will buy fields in the towns
of the land of Judah, in the hill country, in the
western foothills, and in the area of the
deed(s) A piece of paper that proves a person owns a certain
piece of property.

JEREMIAH 33:1–21
908
southern desert. That will happen because I
will bring your people back home.” This
message is from the Lord.
The Promise of God
The message from the Lord came to
33Jeremiah a second time. Jeremiah was
still locked up in the courtyard* of the guards.
2The Lord made the earth, and he keeps it
safe. The Lord is his name. The Lord says,
3“Judah, pray to me, and I will answer you. I
will tell you important secrets. You have
never heard these things before. 4The Lord is
the God of Israel. The Lord says these things
about the houses in Jerusalem and about the
palaces* of the kings of Judah. The enemy
will pull those houses down. The enemy will
build ramps up to the top of the city walls.
The enemy will use swords and fight the
people in these cities.
5“The people in Jerusalem have done many
bad things. I am angry at those people. I have
turned against them. So I will kill many, many
people there. The Babylonian army will come
to fight against Jerusalem. There will be
many, many dead bodies in the houses in
Jerusalem.
6“But then I will heal the people in that
city. I will let those people enjoy peace and
safety. 7I will make good things happen to
Judah and Israel again. I will make those
people strong like in the past. 8They sinned
against me—but I will wash away that sin.
They fought against me—but I will forgive
them. 9Then Jerusalem will be a wonderful
place. People will be happy. And people from
other nations will praise it. This will happen at
the time those people hear about the good
things happening there. They will hear about
the good things I am doing for Jerusalem.
10“You people are saying, ‘Our country is
an empty desert. There are no people or
animals living there.’ It is now quiet in the
streets of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah.
But it will be noisy there soon. 11There
will be the sounds of people bringing their
gifts to the Lord’s temple.* Those people will
say, ‘Praise the Lord All-Powerful! The Lord
is good! The Lord’s kindness continues
forever!’ The people will say these things
because I will again do good things to Judah.
It will be like in the beginning.” The Lord
said these things.
12The Lord All-Powerful says, “This place
is empty now. There are no people or animals
living here. But there will be people in all the
towns of Judah. There will be shepherds, and
there will be pastures where they will let their
flocks rest.
will be
sounds of joy and happiness. There will be the
happy sounds of a bride and groom. There
13Shepherds count their sheep as
the sheep walk in front of them. People will
be counting their sheep all around the
country—in the hill-country, in the western
foothills, in the Negev,* and in all the other
towns of Judah.”
The Good Branch
14This message is from the Lord: “I made a
special promise to the people of Israel and
Judah. The time is coming when I will do the
things I promised. 15At that time, I will make a
good ‘branch’ grow from David’s family. That
good ‘branch’ will do the things that are good
and right for the country. 16At the time of this
‘branch,’ the people of Judah will be saved.
The people will live safely in Jerusalem. The
branch’s name is: ‘The Lord is Good.’”
17The Lord says, “A person from David’s
family will always sit on the throne and rule
the family of Israel. 18And there will always
be priests from the family of Levi. Those
priests will always stand before me and offer
burnt offerings and sacrifice grain offerings
and give sacrifices to me.”
19This message from the Lord came to
Jeremiah. 20The Lord says, “I have an
agreement with day and night. I agreed that
they will continue forever. You can’t change
that agreement. Day and night will always
come at the right time. If you could change
that agreement, 21then you could change my
Agreement with David and Levi. Then
courtyard An area around the king’s house.
palace(s) A large house for the king and his family.
temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.
Negev The desert area south of Judah.

descendants* from David would not be the
kings and the family of Levi would not be
priests. 22But I will give many descendants to
my servant David and to the family group of
Levi. They will be as many as the stars in the
sky—no person can count all those stars. And
they will be as many as the pieces of sand on
the seashore—no person can count those
pieces of sand.”
23Jeremiah received this message from the
Lord: 24“Jeremiah, have you heard what the
people are saying? Those people are saying,
‘The Lord turned away from the two families
of Israel and Judah. The Lord chose those
people, but now he does not even accept them
as a nation.’”
25The Lord says, “If my agreement with
day and night does not continue, and if I
didn’t make the laws for the sky and earth,
then maybe I would leave those people.
26Then maybe I would turn away from
Jacob’s* descendants.* And then maybe I
would not let David’s descendants rule over
the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. But David is my servant. And I will be
kind to those people. And I will again cause
good things to happen to those people.”
A Warning to Zedekiah King of Judah
The message from the Lord came to
34Jeremiah. The message came at the
time when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
was fighting against Jerusalem and all the
towns around it. Nebuchadnezzar had with
him all his army and the armies of all the
kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled.
2This was the message: “This is what the
Lord, the God of the people of Israel, says:
Jeremiah, go to Zedekiah king of Judah and
give him this message: ‘Zedekiah, this is what
the Lord says: I will give the city of Jerusalem
to the king of Babylon very soon, and he will
burn it down. 3Zedekiah, you will not escape
from the king of Babylon. You will surely be
caught and given to him. You will see the
king of Babylon with your own eyes. He will
talk to you face to face, and you will go to
descendants A person’s children and their future families.
Jacob’s Another name for Israel. See Gen. 32:22–28.
909 JEREMIAH 33:22–34:13
Babylon. 4But listen to the promise of the
Lord, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what
the Lord says about you: You will not be
killed with a sword. 5You will die in a
peaceful way. People made funeral fires to
honor your ancestors,* the kings that ruled
before you became king. In the same way,
people will make a funeral fire to honor you.
They will cry for you. They will sadly say,
“Oh, master!” I myself make this promise to
you.’” This message is from the Lord.
6So Jeremiah gave the message from the
Lord to Zedekiah in Jerusalem. 7This was
while the army of the king of Babylon was
fighting against Jerusalem. The army of
Babylon was also fighting against the cities of
Judah that had not been captured. Those cities
were Lachish and Azekah. These were the
only fortified cities left in the land of Judah.
The People Break One of their Agreements
8King Zedekiah had made an agreement
with all the people in Jerusalem to give
freedom to all the Hebrew slaves. A message
from the Lord came to Jeremiah after
Zedekiah had made that agreement. 9Every
person was supposed to free his Hebrew
slaves. All male and female Hebrew slaves
were to be set free. No one was supposed to
keep another person from the family group of
Judah in slavery. 10So all the leaders of Judah
and all the people accepted this agreement.
Every person would free their male and
female slaves and no longer keep them as
slaves. Every person agreed, and so all the
slaves were set free. 11But after that,* the
people that had slaves changed their minds.
So they took the people they had set free and
made them slaves again.
12Then the message from the Lord came to
Jeremiah: 13Jeremiah, this is what the Lord,
the God of the people of Israel, says: “I
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
after that In the summer of 588 B.C., the Egyptian army came
to help the people of Jerusalem, and the Babylonian army had
to leave Jerusalem briefly to fight the Egyptians. The people
of Jerusalem thought that God had helped them, and that
things were back to normal, so they didn’t keep their promise.
They took the slaves that they had set free back into slavery.

JEREMIAH 34:14–35:5 910
brought your ancestors* out of the land of
Egypt, where they were slaves. When I did
that, I made an Agreement with them. 14I said
to your ancestors: ‘At the end of every seven
years, each person must set his Hebrew slaves
free. If you have a fellow Hebrew that has
sold himself to you, you must let him go free
after he has served you for six years.’ But
your ancestors didn’t listen to me or pay
attention to me. 15A short time ago, you
changed your hearts to do what is right. Each
of you gave freedom to his fellow Hebrews
that were slaves. And you even made an
agreement before me in the temple* that is
called by my name. 16But now, you have
changed your minds. You have shown you
don’t honor my name. How did you do this?
Each of you has taken back the male and
female slaves that you had set free. You have
forced them to become slaves again.
17“So this is what the Lord says: ‘You
people have not obeyed me. You have not
given freedom to your fellow Hebrews.
Because you have not kept the agreement, I
will give “freedom.”’ This is the message of
the Lord. ‘(I will give) “freedom” to be killed
by swords, by terrible sicknesses, and by
hunger! I will make you become something
that terrifies all the kingdoms of the earth,
when they hear about you. 18I
The bodies of those people will become food
for the birds of the air and for the wild
animals of the earth.
will hand over
the men that broke my Agreement, and have
not kept the promises they made before me.
These men cut a calf into two pieces before
me and walked between the two pieces.*
19These are the people that walked between
the two pieces of the calf when they made the
Agreement before me: the leaders of Judah
and Jerusalem, the important officials of the
court, the priests, and the people of the land.
20So I will give those people to their enemies
and to every person that wants to kill them.
21I will give Zedekiah
king of Judah, and his leaders to their enemies
and to every person that wants to kill them. I
will give Zedekiah and his people to the army
of the king of Babylon, even though that army
has left Jerusalem.* 22But I will give the
order,’ this message is from the Lord, ‘to
bring the Babylonian army back to Jerusalem.
That army will fight against Jerusalem. They
will capture it and set it on fire and burn it
down. And I will destroy the cities in the land
of Judah. Those cities will become empty
deserts. No people will live there.’”
The Good Example of the Recabite Family
During the time when Jehoiakim was
35king of Judah, the message from the
Lord came to Jeremiah. Jehoiakim was the
son of King Josiah. This was the message
from the Lord: 2“Jeremiah, go to the Recabite
family.* Invite them to come to one of the
side rooms of the temple* of the Lord. Offer
them wine to drink.”
3So I (Jeremiah) went to get Jaazaniah.*
Jaazaniah was the son of a man named
Jeremiah,* that was the son of a man named
Habazziniah. And I got all of Jaazaniah’s
brothers and sons. I got the whole family of
the Recabites together. 4Then I brought the
Recabite family into the temple of the Lord.
We went into the room called the room of the
sons of Hanan. Hanan was the son of a man
named Igdaliah. Hanan was a man of God.*
The room was next to the room where the
princes of Judah stay. It was over the room of
Maaseiah son of Shallum. Maaseiah was the
doorkeeper in the temple. 5Then I (Jeremiah)
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.
These men … two pieces This is part of a ceremony people
used when they made an important agreement. An animal was
cut into two pieces. The people that were making the
agreement would walk between the pieces. Then they would
say something like, “I hope this same thing happens to me if I
don’t keep the agreement.” See Gen. 15.
left Jerusalem An army from Egypt came to help the people of
Jerusalem in the summer of 588 B.C. So the Babylonian army
left Jerusalem for a short time to fight them. See Jer. 37:5. See
also the footnote to Jer. 34:11.
Recabite family A group of people descended from Jonadab
son of Recab. The family was very loyal to the Lord. See
2 Kings 10:15–28 for the story of Jonadab.
Jaazaniah He was the head of the Recabite family at that time.
Jeremiah Not the prophet Jeremiah, but a different man of the
same name.
man of God This is usually an honorable title for a prophet. We
know nothing else about Hanan.

put some bowls full of wine with some cups
in front of the Recabite family. And I said to
them, “Drink some wine.”
6But the Recabite people answered, “We
never drink wine. We never drink it because
our ancestor* Jonadab son of Recab, gave us
this command: ‘You and your descendants*
must never drink wine. 7Also, you must never
build houses, plant seeds, or plant vineyards.
You must never do any of those things. You
must live only in tents. If you do that, then you
will live a long time in the land where you
move from place to place.’ 8So, we Recabite
people have obeyed everything our ancestor
Jonadab commanded us. We never drink wine.
And our wives, sons, and daughters never
drink wine. 9We never build houses to live in.
And we never own vineyards or fields. And
we never plant crops. 10We have lived in tents
and have obeyed everything our ancestor
Jonadab commanded us. 11But when
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked the
country of Judah, we did go into Jerusalem.
We said to each other, ‘Come, we must enter
the city of Jerusalem, so that we can escape
the Babylonian army and the Aramean army.’
So we have stayed in Jerusalem.”
12Then the message from the Lord came to
Jeremiah: 13The Lord All-Powerful, the God
of Israel, says: “Jeremiah, go and tell this
message to the men of Judah and to the
people of Jerusalem: You people should learn
a lesson and obey my message.” This
message is from the Lord. 14“Jonadab son of
Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine, and
that command has been obeyed. Until today,
the descendants* of Jonadab obeyed their
ancestor’s* command. They don’t drink wine.
But I am the Lord. And I have given you
people of Judah messages again and again,
but you didn’t obey me. 15I sent my servants
the prophets to you people of Israel and
Judah. I sent them to you again and again.
Those prophets said to you, ‘Each of you
people of Israel and Judah must stop doing
evil things. You must be good. Don’t follow
ancestor Literally, “father,” meaning a person that people are
descended from.
descendants A person’s children and their future families.
911 JEREMIAH 35:6–36:6
other gods. Don’t worship or serve them. If
you obey me, then you will live in the land I
have given to you and your ancestors.’ But
you people have not paid attention to my
message. 16The descendants of Jonadab
obeyed the commands that their ancestor gave
them. But the people of Judah have not
obeyed me.”
17So the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of
Israel, says: “I said many bad things would
happen to Judah and Jerusalem. I will soon
make all those bad things happen. I spoke to
those people, but they refused to listen. I
called out to them, but they didn’t answer me.”
18Then Jeremiah said to the family of the
Recabite people, “The Lord All-Powerful, the
God of Israel, says, ‘You people have obeyed
the commands of your ancestor* Jonadab.
You have followed all of Jonadab’s teachings.
You have done everything he commanded.
19So the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel,
says: There will always be a descendant* of
Jonadab son of Recab to serve me.’”
King Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll
The message from the Lord came to
36Jeremiah. This was during the fourth
year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of
Judah. This was the message from the Lord:
2“Jeremiah, get a scroll* and write on it all the
messages I have spoken to you. I have spoken
to you about the nations of Israel and Judah
and all the nations. Write all the words that I
have spoken to you from the time that Josiah
was king, until now. 3Maybe the family of
Judah will hear what I am planning to do to
them. And maybe they will stop doing bad
things. If they will do that, I will forgive them
for the bad sins they have done.”
4So Jeremiah called a man named Baruch.
Baruch was the son of Neriah. Jeremiah spoke
the messages the Lord had given him. While
Jeremiah spoke, Baruch wrote those messages
on the scroll.* 5Then Jeremiah said to Baruch,
“I can’t go to the Lord’s temple. I am not
allowed to go there. 6So I want you to go to
scroll(s) A long roll of leather or papyrus (paper) used for
writing books, letters, and legal documents.

JEREMIAH 36:7–23
912
the temple of the Lord. Go there on a day of
fasting* and read to the people from the scroll.
Read to the people the messages from the
Lord that you wrote on the scroll as I spoke
them to you. Read those messages to all the
people of Judah that come into Jerusalem
from the towns where they live. 7Perhaps
those people will ask the Lord to help them.
Perhaps each person will stop doing bad
things. The Lord has announced that he is
very angry with those people.” 8So Baruch
son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the
prophet told him to do. Baruch read aloud the
scroll that had the Lord’s messages written on
it. He read it in the Lord’s temple.
9In the ninth month of the fifth year that
Jehoiakim was king, a fast* was announced. All
the people that lived in the city of Jerusalem,
and everyone that had come into Jerusalem
from the towns of Judah were supposed to fast
before the Lord. 10At that time, Baruch read the
scroll* that contained Jeremiah’s words. He
read the scroll in the temple of the Lord. Baruch
read the scroll to all the people that were in the
Lord’s temple. Baruch was in the room of
Gemariah in the upper courtyard when he read
from the scroll. That room was located at the
entrance of the New Gate of the temple.
Gemariah was the son of Shaphan. Gemariah
was a scribe* in the temple.
11A man named Micaiah heard all the
messages from the Lord that Baruch read from
the scroll.* Micaiah was the son of Gemariah,
the son of Shaphan. 12When
and all the other royal officials were there too.
13Micaiah told those officials everything he
had heard Baruch read from the scroll.
14Then all those officials sent a man named
Jehudi to Baruch. Jehudi was the son of
Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah. Shelemiah was
Micaiah heard the
messages from the scroll, he went down to the
secretary’s room in the king’s palace. All of the
royal officials were sitting there in the king’s
palace. These are the names of those officials:
Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of
Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Acbor, Gemariah
the son of Cushi. Jehudi said to Baruch,
“Bring the scroll* that you read from and
come with me.”
Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and
went with Jehudi to the officials.
15Then those officials said to Baruch, “Sit
down and read the scroll to us.”
So Baruch read the scroll to them.
16Those royal officials heard all the
messages from the scroll.* Then they became
afraid, and they looked at one another. They
said to Baruch, “We must tell King Jehoiakim
about these messages on the scroll.”
son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah;
17Then
the officials asked Baruch a question. They
said, “Tell us, Baruch, where did you get
these messages that you wrote on the scroll?
Did you write down the things Jeremiah
spoke to you?”
18“Yes,” Baruch answered. “Jeremiah spoke,
and I wrote down all the messages with ink on
this scroll.*”
19Then the royal officials said to Baruch,
“You and Jeremiah must go and hide. Don’t
tell anyone where you are hiding.”
20Then the royal officials put the scroll* in
the room of Elishama the scribe. They went to
King Jehoiakim and told him all about the
scroll.
21So King Jehoiakim sent Jehudi to get the
scroll.* Jehudi brought the scroll from the
room of Elishama the scribe. Then Jehudi
read the scroll to the king and all of the
servants that stood around the king. 22The
time this happened was in the ninth month,*
so King Jehoiakim was sitting in the winter
apartment. There was a fire burning in a
small fireplace in front of the king. 23Jehudi
began to read from the scroll. But whenever
he would read two or three columns, King
Jehoiakim would grab the scroll. Then he
would cut those columns off of the scroll
fast(ing) Living without food for a special time of prayer and
worship to God.
scroll A long roll of leather or papyrus (paper) used for writing
books, letters, and legal documents.
scribe A man that wrote down and copied books and letters. He
often become an expert at the meaning of those writings
(Scriptures). ninth month This was in November or December.

with a small knife and throw them into the
fireplace. Finally, the whole scroll was
burned in the fire. 24And, when King
Jehoiakim and his servants heard the message
from the scroll, they were not afraid. They
didn’t tear their clothes to show sorrow for
doing wrong.
25Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah tried to
talk King Jehoiakim into not burning the
scroll * But the king would not listen to them.
26And King Jehoiakim commanded some men
to arrest Baruch the scribe* and Jeremiah the
prophet. Those men were Jerahmeel, a son of
the king, Seraiah son of Azriel, and
Shelemiah son of Abdeel. But those men
could not find Baruch and Jeremiah, because
the Lord had hidden them.
27The message from the Lord came to
Jeremiah. This happened after King
Jehoiakim burned the scroll* that had
contained all the messages from the Lord.
Jeremiah had spoken to Baruch, and Baruch
had written the messages on the scroll. This
was the message from the Lord that came to
Jeremiah:
28“Jeremiah, get another scroll.* Write all
the messages on it that were on the first scroll.
That is the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah
burned. 29Jeremiah, also say this to Jehoiakim
king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says:
Jehoiakim, you burned that scroll. You said,
“Why did Jeremiah write that the king of
Babylon will surely come and destroy this
land? Why did he say that the king of
Babylon will destroy both men and animals in
this land?” 30So, this is what the Lord says
about Jehoiakim king of Judah: Jehoiakim’s
descendants* will not sit on David’s throne.
When Jehoiakim dies, he will not get a king’s
funeral, but his body will be thrown out on
the ground. His body will be left out in the
heat of the day and the cold frost of the night.
31I, the Lord, will punish Jehoiakim and his
scroll A long roll of leather or papyrus (paper) used for writing
books, letters, and legal documents.
scribe A man that wrote down and copied books and letters. He
often become an expert at the meaning of those writings
(Scriptures).
descendants A person’s children and their future families.
913 JEREMIAH 36:24–37:8
children. And I will punish his officials. I will
do this because they are wicked. I have
promised to bring terrible disasters on them
and on all the people that live in Jerusalem
and on the people from Judah. I will bring all
the bad things on them, just as I promised,
because they have not listened to me.’”
32Then Jeremiah took another scroll* and
gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe.*
As Jeremiah spoke, Baruch wrote on the
scroll the same messages that were on the
scroll that King Jehoiakim had burned in the
fire. And many other words like those
messages were added to the second scroll.
Jeremiah Is Put in Prison
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of
37Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar appointed
Zedekiah as king of Judah in the place of
Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim. Zedekiah was a
son of King Josiah. 2But Zedekiah did not pay
attention to the messages the Lord had given
to Jeremiah the prophet to preach. And
Zedekiah’s servants and the people of Judah
did not pay attention to the Lord’s messages.
3King Zedekiah sent a man named Jehucal
and the priest Zephaniah to Jeremiah the
prophet with a message. Jehucal was the son
of Shelemiah. The priest Zephaniah was the
son of Maaseiah. This was the message they
brought to Jeremiah: “Jeremiah, pray to the
Lord our God for us.”
4(At that time, Jeremiah had not yet been put
into prison, so he was free to go anywhere he
wanted. 5Also at that time, Pharaoh’s army had
marched from Egypt toward Judah. The
Babylonian army had surrounded the city of
Jerusalem, in order to defeat it. Then they had
heard about the army from Egypt marching
toward them. So the army from Babylon had left
Jerusalem to fight with the army from Egypt.)
6The message from the Lord came to
Jeremiah the prophet: 7“This is what the Lord,
the God of the people of Israel, says: ‘Jehucal
and Zephaniah, I know that Zedekiah king of
Judah, sent you to me to ask questions. Tell
this to King Zedekiah: Pharaoh’s army
marched out of Egypt to come here to help
you against the army of Babylon. But
Pharaoh’s army will go back to Egypt. 8After

JEREMIAH 37:9–38:4 914
that, the army from Babylon will come back
here. They will attack Jerusalem. Then that
army from Babylon will capture and burn
Jerusalem.’ 9This is what the Lord says:
‘People of Jerusalem, don’t fool yourselves.
Don’t say to yourselves, “The army of
Babylon will surely leave us alone.” They will
not. 10People of Jerusalem, even if you could
defeat all of the Babylonian army that is
attacking you, there would still be a few
wounded men left in their tents. Even those
few wounded men would come out of their
tents and burn Jerusalem down.’”
11When the Babylonian army left Jerusalem
to fight the army of the Pharaoh of Egypt,
12Jeremiah wanted to travel from Jerusalem to
the land of Benjamin.* He was going there to
attend a division of some property that
belonged to his family. 13But when Jeremiah
got to the Benjamin Gate of Jerusalem,* the
captain in charge of the guards arrested him.
The captain’s name was Irijah. Irijah was the
son of Shelemiah. Shelemiah was the son of
Hananiah. So Irijah the captain arrested
Jeremiah and said, “Jeremiah, you are leaving
us to join the Babylonian side.”
14Jeremiah said to Irijah, “That is not true. I
am not leaving to join the Babylonians.” But
Irijah refused to listen to Jeremiah. And Irijah
arrested Jeremiah and took him to the royal
officials of Jerusalem. 15Those officials were
very angry with Jeremiah. They gave an order
for Jeremiah to be beaten. Then they put
Jeremiah in a prison. The prison was in the
house of a man named Jonathan. Jonathan was
a scribe* for the king of Judah. Jonathan’s
house had been made into a prison. 16Those
17Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah
and had him brought to the king’s house.
Zedekiah talked to Jeremiah in private. He
asked Jeremiah, “Is there any message from
the Lord?”
Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is a
message from the Lord. Zedekiah, you will be
given to the king of Babylon.”
people put Jeremiah into a cell under the
house of Jonathan. That cell was in a
dungeon* under the ground. Jeremiah was
there for a long time.
18Then
Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What have I
done wrong? What crime have I done against
you or your officials or the people of
Jerusalem? Why have you thrown me into
prison? 19King Zedekiah, where are your
prophets now? Those prophets preached a
false message to you. They said, ‘The king of
Babylon will not attack you or this land of
Judah.’ 20But now, my lord, king of Judah,
please listen to me. Please let me bring my
request to you. This is what I ask: Don’t send
me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe.
If you send me back, I will die there.”
21So King Zedekiah gave orders for
Jeremiah to be put under guard in the
courtyard. And he ordered that Jeremiah
should be given bread from the street bakers.
Jeremiah was given bread until there was no
more bread in the city. So Jeremiah stayed
under guard in the courtyard.
Jeremiah Is Thrown into a Cistern
Some of the royal officials heard what
38Jeremiah was preaching. They were:
Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of
Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and
Pashhur son of Malkijah. Jeremiah was telling
all the people this message: 2“This is what the
Lord says: ‘Everyone that stays in Jerusalem
will die by a sword, or hunger, or terrible
sickness. But everyone that surrenders to the
army of Babylon will live. Those people will
escape with their lives.’ 3And this is what the
Lord says: ‘This city of Jerusalem will surely
be given to the army of the king of Babylon.
He will capture this city.’”
4Then those royal officials that heard the
things Jeremiah was telling the people went to
King Zedekiah. They said to the king,
“Jeremiah must be put to death. He is making
the soldiers that are still in the city become
discouraged. Jeremiah is discouraging
the land of Benjamin Jeremiah was going to his home town,
Anathoth, which was in the land of Benjamin.
Benjamin Gate of Jerusalem This gate led out of Jerusalem to
the road which went north to the land of Benjamin.
scribe A man that wrote down and copied books and letters. He
often become an expert at the meaning of those writings
(Scriptures).
dungeon A deep pit in the ground, like a cave, used as a prison.

everyone by the things he is saying. Jeremiah
does not want good to happen to us. He wants
to ruin the people of Jerusalem.”
5So King Zedekiah said to those officials,
“Jeremiah is in your control. I can’t do
anything to stop you.”
6So those officials took Jeremiah and put
him into Malkijah’s cistern.* (Malkijah was
the king’s son.) That cistern was in the temple
yard where the king’s guard stayed. Those
officials used ropes to lower Jeremiah into the
cistern. The cistern didn’t have any water in it,
but only mud. And Jeremiah sank down into
the mud.
7But a man named Ebed Melech heard that
those officials had put Jeremiah into the
cistern.* Ebed Melech was a man from
Ethiopia, and he was a eunuch* in the king’s
house. King Zedekiah was sitting at the
Benjamin Gate. So Ebed Melech left the
king’s house and went to talk to the king at
that gate. 8–9Ebed Melech said, “My lord and
king, those officials have acted in a wicked
way. They have treated Jeremiah the prophet
wickedly. They have thrown him into a
cistern. They have left him there to die.”*
10Then King Zedekiah gave a command to
Ebed Melech, the Ethiopian. This was the
command: “Ebed Melech, take three* men
from the king’s house with you. Go and lift
Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.”
11So Ebed Melech took the men with him.
But first he went to a room under the storeroom
in the king’s house. He took some old rags and
worn-out clothes from that room. Then he let
those rags down with some ropes to Jeremiah
in the cistern.* 12Ebed Melech, the Ethiopian,
said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and wornout
clothes under your arms. When we pull you
out, these rags will pad your underarms. Then
the ropes will not hurt you.” So Jeremiah did as
Ebed Melech said. 13Those men pulled
Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out
cistern A deep hole in the ground used to store water.
eunuch A man that had his sexual organs removed. Often
important officials of the king were eunuchs.
They have left him there to die Literally, “He will starve to
death because there is no more bread in the city.”
three Some Hebrew copies have “30.”
915 JEREMIAH 38:5–22
of the cistern. And Jeremiah stayed under
guard in the temple yard.
Zedekiah Asks Jeremiah Some Questions
14Then King Zedekiah sent someone to get
Jeremiah the prophet. He had Jeremiah brought
to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord.
Then the king said, “Jeremiah, I am going to
ask you something. Don’t hide anything from
me, but tell me everything honestly.”
15Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you
an answer, you will probably kill me. And
even if I did give you advice, you would not
listen to me.”
16But King Zedekiah secretly swore an
oath to Jeremiah. Zedekiah said, “The Lord
gives us breath and life. As surely as the Lord
lives I will not kill you, Jeremiah. And I
promise not to give you to those officials that
want to kill you.”
17Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah,
“The Lord God All-Powerful is the God of
Israel. The Lord says, ‘If you surrender to the
officials of the king of Babylon, your life will
be saved and Jerusalem will not be burned
down. And you and your family will live.
18But if you refuse to surrender then Jerusalem
will be given to the Babylonian army. They
will burn Jerusalem down, and you will not
escape from them.’”
19But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “But
I am afraid of the men of Judah that have
already gone over to the side of the Babylonian
army. I am afraid that the soldiers will give me
to those men of Judah and they will treat me
badly and hurt me.”
20But Jeremiah answered, “The soldiers
will not give you to those men of Judah. King
Zedekiah, obey the Lord by doing what I tell
you. Then things will go well for you, and
your life will be saved. 21But if you refuse to
surrender to the army of Babylon, the Lord
has shown me what will happen. This is what
the Lord has told me: 22All the women that
are left in the house of the king of Judah will
be brought out. They will be brought to the
important officials of the king of Babylon.
Your women will make fun of you with a
song. This is what the women will say:

JEREMIAH 38:23–39:13 916
‘Your good friends led you the wrong way
and were stronger than you.
Those were friends that you trusted.
Your feet are stuck in the mud.
Your friends have left you.’
23All your wives and children will be
brought out. They will be given to the
Babylonian army. You yourself will not
escape from the army of Babylon. You will be
captured by the king of Babylon, and
Jerusalem will be burned down.”
24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Don’t
tell any person that I have been talking to you.
If you do, you might die. 25Those officials
might find out that I talked to you. Then they
will come to you and say, ‘Jeremiah, tell us
what you said to King Zedekiah. And tell us
what King Zedekiah said to you. Be honest
with us and tell us everything, or we will kill
you.’ 26If they say this to you, then tell them, ‘I
was begging the king not to send me back to
the cell in the dungeon* under Jonathan’s
house. If I were to go back there, I would die.’”
27It happened that those royal officials of the
king did come to Jeremiah to question him. So
Jeremiah told them everything the king had
ordered him to say. Then those officials left
Jeremiah alone. No person had heard what
Jeremiah and the king had talked about.
28So Jeremiah stayed under guard in the
temple yard until the day Jerusalem was
captured.
The Fall of Jerusalem
This is how Jerusalem was captured:
39During the tenth month of the ninth year
that Zedekiah was king of Judah,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched
against Jerusalem with his whole army. He
surrounded the city to defeat it. 2And on the
ninth day of the fourth month in Zedekiah’s
eleventh year, the wall of Jerusalem was broken
through. 3Then
a very high official; Nebo Sarsekim, another
very high official; and various other important
officials were there also.
4Zedekiah king of Judah saw those officials
from Babylon, so he and the soldiers with him
ran away. They left Jerusalem at night. They
went out through the king’s garden and out
through the gate that was between the two walls.
Then they went toward the desert.
all the royal officials of the king
of Babylon came into the city of Jerusalem.
They came in and sat down at the Middle Gate.
These are the names of those officials: Nergal-
Sharezer, the governor of the district of Samgar,
5The
Babylonian army chased Zedekiah and the
soldiers with him. Those soldiers caught up with
Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured
Zedekiah and took him to Nebuchadnezzar, the
king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was at the
town of Riblah, in the land of Hamath. At that
place, Nebuchadnezzar decided what to do to
Zedekiah. 6There at the town of Riblah, the king
of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons, while
Zedekiah watched. And Nebuchadnezzar killed
all the royal officials of Judah while Zedekiah
watched. 7Then Nebuchadnezzar tore out
Zedekiah’s eyes. He put bronze chains on
Zedekiah and took him to Babylon.
8The army of Babylon set fire to the king’s
house and the houses of the people of
Jerusalem. And they broke down the walls of
Jerusalem. 9A man named Nebuzaradan was
the commander of the king of Babylon’s
special guards. He took the people that were
left in Jerusalem and made them captives. He
carried them away to Babylon. Nebuzaradan
also made those people of Jerusalem captives
that had surrendered to him earlier. He made
all the others of the people of Jerusalem
captives and carried them away to Babylon.
10But Nebuzaradan, the commander of the
special guards, left some of the poor people of
Judah behind. Those were the people that
owned nothing. So on that day, Nebuzaradan
gave those poor people of Judah vineyards
and fields.
11But Nebuchadnezzar gave some orders to
Nebuzaradan about Jeremiah. Nebuzaradan
was the commander of Nebuchadnezzar’s
special guards. These were the orders: 12“Find
Jeremiah and take care of him. Don’t hurt
him. Give him whatever he asks for.”
13So Nebuzaradan, the commander of the
king’s special guards, Nebushazban, a chief
officer in the army of Babylon, Nergal-
dungeon A deep pit in the ground, like a cave, used as a prison.

Sharezer, a high official, and all the other
officers of the army of Babylon sent for
Jeremiah. 14Those men had Jeremiah taken
out of the temple yard where he had been
under the guard of the king of Judah. Those
officers of the army of Babylon turned
Jeremiah over to Gedaliah.* Gedaliah was the
son of Ahikam. Ahikam was the son of
Shaphan. Gedaliah had orders to take
Jeremiah back home. So Jeremiah was taken
home, and he stayed among his own people.
A Message from the Lord to Ebed-Melech
15While the guards were watching Jeremiah
in the temple yard, a message from the Lord
came to him. This was the message:
16“Jeremiah, go and tell Ebed-Melech,* the
man from Ethiopia, this message: ‘This is what
the Lord Almighty, the God of the people of
Israel, says: Very soon I will make my
messages about this city of Jerusalem come
true. My messages will come true through
disaster and not good things. You will see
everything come true with your own eyes.
17But I will save you on that day, Ebed-
Melech.’ This is the message of the Lord. ‘You
won’t be given to the people you are afraid of.
18I will save you, Ebed-Melech. You won’t die
from a sword, but you will escape and live.
That will happen because you have trusted in
me.’” This message is from the Lord.
Jeremiah Is Set Free
The message from the Lord came to
40Jeremiah after he was set free at the city
of Ramah. Nebuzaradan, the commander of
the king of Babylon’s special guards, found
Jeremiah in Ramah. Jeremiah was bound with
chains. He was with all the captives from
Jerusalem and Judah. Those captives were
being taken away in captivity to Babylon.
2When commander Nebuzaradan found
Jeremiah, he spoke to him. He said, “Jeremiah,
the Lord, your God, announced that this
disaster would come to this place. 3And now
the Lord has done everything just as he said he
Gedaliah Gedaliah was the man that Nebuchadnezzar
appointed as his governor for the land of Judah.
Ebed-Melech See Jeremiah 38:7–13.
917 JEREMIAH 39:14–40:10
would do. This disaster happened because you
people of Judah sinned against the Lord. You
people didn’t obey the Lord. 4But now,
Jeremiah, I will set you free. I am taking the
chains off your wrists. If you want to, come
with me to Babylon, and I will take good care
of you. But if you don’t want to come with
me, then don’t come. Look, the whole country
is open to you. Go anywhere you want. 5Or go
back to Gedaliah* son of Ahikam, the son of
Shaphan. The king of Babylon has chosen
Gedaliah to be governor over the towns of
Judah. Go and live with Gedaliah among the
people. Or you can go anywhere you want.”
Then Nebuzaradan gave Jeremiah some
food and a present and let him go. 6So
Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at
Mizpah. Jeremiah stayed with Gedaliah
among the people that were left behind in the
land of Judah.
The Short Rule of Gedaliah
7There were some soldiers from the army
of Judah, officers and their men, still out in
the open country when Jerusalem was
destroyed. Those soldiers heard that the king
of Babylon had put Gedaliah son of Ahikam
in charge of the people that were left in the
land. The people that were left were men,
women, and children that were very poor and
were not carried off to Babylon as captives.
8So those soldiers came to Gedaliah at
Mizpah. Those soldiers were: Ishmael son of
Nethaniah, Johanan, and his brother Jonathan,
sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth,
sons of Ephai from Netophah, and Jaazaniah
son of the Maacathite, and the men that were
with them.
9Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan,
made an oath to make those soldiers and their
men feel more secure. This is what Gedaliah
said: “You soldiers, don’t be afraid to serve
the Babylonian people. Settle down in the land
and serve the king of Babylon. If you do this,
things will go well for you. 10I, myself, will
live in Mizpah. I will speak for you before the
Chaldean people that come here. You people
Or … Gedaliah Or, “Before Gedaliah goes back, return
to him …”

JEREMIAH 40:11–41:10 918
leave that work to me. You should harvest the
wine, the summer fruit, and the oil. Put what
you harvest in your storage jars. Live in the
towns that you have taken control of.”
11All the people of Judah that were in the
countries of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and all the
other countries heard that the king of Babylon
had left some people of Judah in the land. And
they heard that the king of Babylon had
chosen Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of
Shaphan, to be governor over them. 12When
those people of Judah heard that news, they
came back to the land of Judah. They came
back to Gedaliah at Mizpah from all the
countries where they had been scattered. So
they came back and gathered a large harvest
of wine and summer fruit.
13Johanan son of Kareah and all the officers
of the army of Judah that were still in the open
country came to Gedaliah. Gedaliah was at the
town of Mizpah. 14Johanan and those officers
with him said to Gedaliah, “Do you know that
Baalis, the king of the Ammonite people,
wants to kill you? He has sent Ishmael son of
Nethaniah to kill you.” But Gedaliah son of
Ahikam didn’t believe them.
15Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke to
Gedaliah in private at Mizpah. Johanan said to
Gedaliah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of
Nethaniah. No person will know anything
about it. We should not let Ishmael kill you.
That would cause all the people of Judah that
are gathered around you to be scattered to
different countries again. And that would mean
that the few survivors of Judah would be lost.”
16But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to
Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t kill Ishmael.
The things you are saying about Ishmael are
not true.”
In the seventh month, Ishmael son of
41Nethaniah (the son of Elishama) came
to Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael came
with ten of his men. Those men came to the
town of Mizpah. Ishmael was a member of the
king’s family. He had been one of the officers
of the king of Judah. Ishmael and his men ate
a meal with Gedaliah. 2While
Babylon had chosen to be governor of Judah.
3Ishmael also killed all the men of Judah that
were with Gedaliah at the town of Mizpah.
Ishmael also killed the Babylonian soldiers
that were there with Gedaliah.
4–5The day after Gedaliah was murdered, 80
men came to Mizpah. They were bringing
grain offerings and incense* to the Lord’s
temple.* Those 80 men had shaved off their
beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves.*
They came from Shechem, Shiloh, and
Samaria. None of these men knew that
Gedaliah had been murdered.
they were
eating together, Ishmael and his ten men got
up and killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam with a
sword. Gedaliah was the man that the king of
6Ishmael left
Mizpah and went to meet those 80 men. He
cried* while he walked out to meet them.
Ishmael met those 80 men and said, “Come
with me to meet with Gedaliah son of
Ahikam.” 7–8As soon as they were in the city,
Ishmael and the men with him began to kill
the 80 men and throw them into a deep
cistern!* But ten of the men said to Ishmael,
“Don’t kill us! We have hidden some things in
a field. We have wheat and barley, and oil and
honey. {We will give those things to you!}” So
Ishmael stopped and didn’t kill them with the
others. 9(Ishmael threw the dead bodies into
the cistern until it was full—and that cistern
was very big! It had been built by a king of
Judah named Asa. King Asa had made the
cistern so that during war there would be
water in the city.* Asa did this to protect his
city from Baasha, the king of Israel.)
10Ishmael captured all the other people in
the town of Mizpah and started to cross over
to the country of the Ammonite people.
(Those people included the king’s daughters,
and all the other people that were left there.
Nebuzaradan, the commander of the king of
incense Special dried tree sap. Burned to make a sweetsmelling
smoke, it was offered as a gift to God.
temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.
shaved … cut themselves The men did this to show that they
were sad about the destruction of the Lord’s temple in
Jerusalem.
He cried Ishmael was acting like he was sad about the
destruction of the temple.
cistern A deep hole in the ground used to store water.
King Asa … city King Asa lived about 300 years before the
time of Gedaliah. See 1 Kings 15:22 for the story about Asa
building defenses for Mizpah.

Babylon’s special guards, had chosen
Gedaliah to watch over those people.)
11Johanan son of Kareah and all the army
officers that were with him, heard about all
the evil things Ishmael had done. 12So
Johanan and the army officers with him took
their men and went to fight Ishmael son of
Nethaniah. They caught Ishmael near the big
pool of water that is at the town of Gibeon.
13The captives* that Ishmael had taken
captive saw Johanan and the army officers.
Those people became very happy. 14Then all
those people that Ishmael had taken captive at
the town of Mizpah ran to Johanan son of
Kareah. 15But Ishmael and eight of his men
escaped from Johanan. They ran away to the
Ammonite people.
16So Johanan son of Kareah and all his
army officers rescued the captives.* Ishmael
had murdered Gedaliah and then he had taken
those people from Mizpah. Among the
survivors* were soldiers, women, children,
and court officials. Johanan brought them
back from the town of Gibeon.
The Escape to Egypt
17–18Johanan and the other army officers
were afraid of the Chaldeans.* The king of
Babylon had chosen Gedaliah to be governor
of Judah. But Ishmael murdered Gedaliah,
and Johanan was afraid that the Chaldeans
would be angry. So they decided to run away
to Egypt. On the way to Egypt, they stayed at
Geruth Kimham. Geruth Kimham is near the
town of Bethlehem.
While they were at Geruth Kimham,
42
Johanan and a man named Jezaniah son
of Hoshaiah went to Jeremiah the prophet. All
the army officers went with Johanan and
Jezaniah. All the people, from the least
important to the most important person, went
to Jeremiah. 2All those people said to him,
“Jeremiah, please listen to what we ask. Pray to
the Lord your God for all these people that are
captives People that were taken away like prisoners.
survivors People that escaped some disaster.
Chaldeans The Chaldeans were the family group to which King
Nebuchadnezzar belonged. They were the group that
controlled the land of Babylon at this time.
919 JEREMIAH 41:11–42:15
survivors* from the family of Judah. Jeremiah,
you can see that there are not many of us left.
At one time there were many of us. 3Jeremiah,
pray that the Lord your God will tell us where
we should go and what we should do.”
4Then Jeremiah the prophet answered, “I
understand the things you want me to do. I
will pray to the Lord your God, like you
asked me to do. I will tell you everything the
Lord says. I will not hide anything from you.”
5Then those people said to Jeremiah, “If we
don’t do everything the Lord your God tells
us, then we hope the Lord will be a true and
faithful witness against us. We know the Lord
your God will send you to tell us what to do.
6It does not matter if we like the message or if
we don’t like the message. We will obey the
Lord our God. We are sending you to the
Lord for a message from him. We will obey
what he says. Then good things will happen to
us. Yes, we will obey the Lord our God.”
7At the end of ten days, the message from
the Lord came to Jeremiah. 8Then Jeremiah
called together Johanan son of Kareah and the
army officers that were with him. Jeremiah
also called all the other people together, from
the least important to the most important
person. 9Then Jeremiah said to them, “This is
what the Lord, the God of the people of Israel,
says. You sent me to him. I asked the Lord
what you wanted me to ask. This is what the
Lord says: 10‘If you people will stay in Judah,
Iwill make you strong—I will not destroy
you. I will plant you, and I will not pull you
up. I will do this because I am sad about the
terrible things that I made happen to you.
11Now you are afraid of the king of Babylon.
But don’t be afraid of him. Don’t be afraid of
the king of Babylon,’ this is the message of the
Lord, ‘because I am with you. I will save you.
I will rescue you. He will not get his hands on
you. 12I will be kind to you. And the king of
Babylon will also treat you with mercy. And
he will bring you back to your land.’ 13But you
might say, ‘We will not stay in Judah.’ If you
say that, you will disobey the Lord your God.
14And you might say, ‘No, we will go and live
in Egypt. We will not be bothered with war in
that place. We will not hear the trumpets of
war. And in Egypt we will not be hungry.’ 15If

JEREMIAH 42:16–43:11
you say those things, then listen to the message
of the Lord, you survivors* from Judah. This is
what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the
people of Israel, says: ‘If you decide to go to
live in Egypt, then these things will happen:
16You are afraid of the sword of war, but it
will defeat you there. And you are worried
about hunger, but you will be hungry in Egypt.
You will die there. 17Every person that decides
to go live in Egypt will die by a sword, or
hunger, or terrible sickness. Not one person
that goes to Egypt will survive. Not one of
them will escape the terrible things that I will
bring to them.’
18“The Lord All-Powerful, the God of the
people of Israel, says: ‘I showed my anger
against Jerusalem. I punished the people that
lived in Jerusalem. In the same way, I will show
my anger against every person that goes to
Egypt. People will use you as an example when
they ask for bad things to happen to other
people. You will become like a curse word.
People will be ashamed of you. People will
insult you. And you will never see Judah again.’
19“Survivors* of Judah, the Lord told you:
‘Don’t go to Egypt.’ I warn you right now, 20you
people are making a mistake that will cause your
deaths. You people sent me to the Lord your
God. You said to me, ‘Pray to the Lord our God
for us. Tell us everything the Lord says to do.
We will obey the Lord.’ 21So today, I have told
you the message from the Lord. But you have
not obeyed the Lord your God. You have not
done all that he sent me to tell you to do. 22So
now, be sure you understand this: You people
want to go live in Egypt. But these things will
happen to you in Egypt: You will die by a
sword, or hunger, or terrible sickness.”
So Jeremiah finished telling the people
43the message from the Lord their God.
Jeremiah told them everything that the Lord
had sent him to tell the people.
2Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of
Kareah, and some other men were proud and
stubborn. Those people became angry at
Jeremiah. Those men said to Jeremiah,
“Jeremiah, you are lying! The Lord our God
survivors People that escaped some disaster.
920
didn’t send you to say to us, ‘You people
must not go to Egypt to live there.’ 3Jeremiah,
we think that Baruch son of Neriah is
encouraging you to be against us. He wants
you to give us to the Babylonian people. He
wants you to do this so they can kill us. Or he
wants you to do this so that they can make us
captives* and carry us to Babylon.”
4So Johanan, the army officers, and all the
people disobeyed the Lord’s command. The
Lord had commanded them to stay in Judah.
5But instead of obeying the Lord, Johanan
and the army officers took those survivors*
from Judah to Egypt. In the past, the enemy
had taken those survivors to other countries.
But they had come back to Judah. 6Now,
Johanan and all the army officers took all the
men, women, and children and led them to
Egypt. Among those people were the king’s
daughters. (Nebuzaradan had put Gedaliah in
charge of those people. Nebuzaradan was the
commander of the king of Babylon’s special
guards.) Johanan also took Jeremiah the
prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. 7Those
people didn’t listen to the Lord. So all those
people went to Egypt. They went to the town
of Tahpanhes.*
8In the town of Tahpanhes, Jeremiah
received this message from the Lord:
9“Jeremiah, get some large stones. Take them
and bury them in the clay and brick sidewalk in
front of Pharaoh’s official building in
Tahpanhes. Do this while the men of Judah are
watching you. 10Then say to those men of
Judah that are watching you: ‘This is what the
Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: I
will send for Nebuchadnezzar, the king of
Babylon, to come here. He is my servant. And
I will set his throne over these stones I have
buried here. Nebuchadnezzar will spread his
canopy* above these stones. 11Nebuchadnezzar
will come here and attack Egypt. He will bring
death to those that are to die. He will bring
captivity to those that are to be taken captive.
And he will bring the sword to those that are to
captives People that were taken away like prisoners.
Tahpanhes A town in northeastern Egypt.
canopy A temporary covering used for shade. It is like a tent
without sides.

e killed with a sword. 12Nebuchadnezzar will
start a fire in the temples of the false gods of
Egypt. He will burn those temples and he will
take those idols away. A shepherd picks the
bugs and stickers off of his clothes to make
them clean. In the same way, Nebuchadnezzar
will pick Egypt clean. Then he will safely
leave Egypt. 13Nebuchadnezzar will destroy
the memorial stones* that are in the temple of
the Sun God* in Egypt. And he will burn down
the temples of the false gods of Egypt.’”
The Lord’s Messages to the People
of Judah in Egypt
Jeremiah received a message from the
44Lord. This message was for all the
people of Judah living in Egypt. The message
was for the people of Judah living in the towns
of Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and southern
Egypt. This was the message: 2The Lord All-
Powerful, the God of Israel, says, “You people
saw the terrible happenings that I brought on
the city of Jerusalem and on all the towns of
Judah. Those towns are empty piles of stones
today. 3Those places were destroyed because
the people living in them did evil things.
Those people gave sacrifices to other gods —
and that made me angry! Your people and
your ancestors* did not worship those gods in
the past. 4I sent my prophets to those people
again and again. Those prophets were my
servants. Those prophets spoke my message
and said to the people, ‘Don’t do this terrible
thing. I hate for you to worship idols.’ 5But
those people didn’t listen to the prophets.
They didn’t pay attention to those prophets.
Those people didn’t stop doing wicked things.
They didn’t stop making sacrifices to other
gods. 6So, I showed my anger against those
people. I punished the towns of Judah and the
streets of Jerusalem. My anger made
Jerusalem and the towns of Judah the empty
piles of stone they are today.”
921 JEREMIAH 43:12–44:14
7So, the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of
Israel, says: “Why are you hurting yourselves
by continuing to worship idols? You are
separating the men and women, the children
and babies from the family of Judah. And so
you leave yourselves without any survivors*
from the family of Judah. 8Why do you people
want to make me angry by making idols? Now
you are living in Egypt. And now you are
making me angry by offering sacrifices to the
false gods of Egypt. You people will destroy
yourselves. It will be your own fault. You will
make yourselves something that people of
other nations will speak evil of. And all the
other nations on the earth will make fun of you.
9Have you forgotten about the wicked things
your ancestors* did? And have you forgotten
about the wicked things the kings and queens
of Judah did? Have you forgotten about the
wicked things you and your wives did in Judah
and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10Even to this
day, the people of Judah have not made
themselves humble. They have not shown any
respect for me. And those people have not
followed my teachings. They have not obeyed
the laws I gave you and your ancestors.*”
11So, this is what the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel, says: “I have decided to
make terrible things happen to you. I will
destroy the whole family of Judah. 12There
were a few survivors* from Judah. Those
people came here to Egypt. But I will destroy
those few survivors from the family of Judah.
They will be killed with swords or die from
hunger. They will be something that people of
other nations will speak evil about. Other
nations will be afraid at what happened to
those people. Those people will become a
curse word. Other nations will insult those
people of Judah. 13I will punish those people
that have gone to live in Egypt. I will use
swords, hunger, and terrible sicknesses to
punish them. I will punish those people just
like I punished the city of Jerusalem. 14Not
one of the few survivors of Judah that have
gone to live in Egypt will escape my
punishment. None of them will survive to
memorial stones Stones that were set up to help people
remember something special. In ancient Israel, people often
set up stones as special places to worship false gods.
Sun God This was the most important god in Egypt.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. survivors People that escaped some disaster.

JEREMIAH 44:15–28
922
come back to Judah. Those people want to
come back to Judah and live there. But not
one of those people will go back to Judah,
except maybe a few people that escape.”
15Many of the women of Judah that lived in
Egypt were making sacrifices to other gods.
Their husbands knew it, but didn’t stop them.
There was a large group of people of Judah
meeting together. They were the people of
Judah that were living in southern Egypt. The
husbands of those women that were making
sacrifices to other gods said to Jeremiah,
16“We will not listen to the message from the
Lord that you spoke to us. 17We promised to
make sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven.* And
we will do everything we promised. We will
offer sacrifices and pour out drink offerings in
worship to her. We did that in the past. And
our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did
that in the past. All of us did those things in
the towns of Judah and in the streets of
Jerusalem. At the time we worshiped the
Queen of Heaven, we had plenty of food. We
were successful. Nothing bad happened to us.
18But then we stopped making sacrifices to the
Queen of Heaven. And we stopped pouring
out drink offerings to her. Since we have
stopped doing those things in worship to her,
we have had problems. Our people have been
killed by swords and hunger.”
19Then the women spoke up.* They said to
Jeremiah, “Our husbands knew what we were
doing. We had their permission to make
sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven. We had
their permission to pour out drink offerings to
her. Our husbands also knew that we were
making cakes that looked like her.”
20Then Jeremiah spoke to all those men and
women. He spoke to the people that had just
said those things. 21Jeremiah
streets of Jerusalem. You and your ancestors,*
your kings, your officials, and the people of
the land did that. The Lord remembered what
you had done, and thought about that.
said to those
people, “The Lord remembered that you made
sacrifices in the towns of Judah and in the
22Then
the Lord could not be patient with you any
longer. The Lord hated the terrible things you
did. So the Lord made your country an empty
desert. No person lives there now. Other
people say bad things about that country. 23All
of those bad things happened to you because
you made sacrifices to other gods. You sinned
against the Lord. You didn’t obey the Lord.
You didn’t follow his teachings or the laws he
gave you. You didn’t keep your part of the
Agreement.”*
24Then Jeremiah spoke to all those men and
women. Jeremiah said, “All you people of
Judah that are now in Egypt, listen to the
message from the Lord: 25The Lord All-
Powerful, the God of the people of Israel, says:
‘You women did what you said you would do.
You said, “We will keep the promises we
made. We promised to make sacrifices and pour
out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.*”
So, go ahead. Do the things you promised you
would do. Keep your promises. 26But, listen to
the message from the Lord, all you people of
Judah that are living in Egypt: ‘I use my great
name and make this promise: I promise none of
the people of Judah that are now living in Egypt
will ever again use my name to make promises.
They will never again say, “As surely as the
Lord lives,” 27I am watching over those people
of Judah. But I am not watching over them to
take care of them. I am watching over them to
hurt them. The people of Judah that live in
Egypt will die from hunger and be killed by
swords. They will continue to die until they are
finished. 28Some people of Judah will escape
being killed by the sword. They will come back
to Judah from Egypt. But there will be very few
people of Judah that escape. Then those
survivors* of Judah that came to live in Egypt
Queen of Heaven Probably the false god Astarte. She was the
goddess of sex and war. People in Mesopotamia worshiped
her. They thought she was the planet Venus, which looks like
a star in the sky.
Then the women spoke up This is from the ancient Greek
translation. The Hebrew does not have this sentence.
ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents,
grandparents, and all the people they are descended from.
Agreement This is probably the Law of Moses, the Agreement
between God and the people of Israel.
survivors People that escaped some disaster. Here this means
the Jewish people that survived the destruction of Judah and
Israel by its enemy armies.

will know whose word will come true. They
will know whether my word or their word came
true. 29I will give you people proof’—this is the
message of the Lord—‘that I will punish you
here in Egypt. Then you will know for sure that
my promises to hurt you will really happen.
30This will be your proof that I will do what I
say.’ This is what the Lord says: ‘Pharaoh
Hophra is the king of Egypt. His enemies want
to kill him. I will give Pharaoh Hophra to his
enemies. Zedekiah was the king of Judah.
Nebuchadnezzar was Zedekiah’s enemy. And I
gave Zedekiah to his enemy. In the same way, I
will give Pharaoh Hophra to his enemy.’”
A Message to Baruch
Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah. In the
45fourth year Jehoiakim was king of
Judah,* Jeremiah the prophet told these things
to Baruch son of Neriah. Baruch wrote these
things on a scroll.* This is what Jeremiah said
to Baruch: 2“This is what the Lord, the God
of Israel, says to you: 3‘Baruch, you have
said: It is very bad for me. The Lord has given
me sorrow along with my pain. I am very
tired. I am worn out because of my suffering.
I can’t find rest.’ 4Jeremiah, say this to
Baruch: ‘This is what the Lord says: I will
tear down what I have built. And I will pull
up what I have planted. I will do that
everywhere in Judah. 5Baruch, you are
looking for great things for yourself. But
don’t look for those things. Don’t look for
them, because I will make terrible things
happen to all the people.’ The Lord said these
things. ‘You will have to go many places. But
I will let you escape alive wherever you go.’”
Messages from the Lord About the Nations
These messages came to Jeremiah the
46prophet. These messages are about
different nations.
Messages About Egypt
2This message is about the nation of Egypt.
This message is about the army of Pharaoh
Neco. Neco was the king of Egypt. His army
fourth year … Judah This was about 605 B.C.
scroll A long roll of leather or papyrus (paper) used for writing
books, letters, and legal documents.
923 JEREMIAH 44:29–46:10
was defeated at the town of Carchemish.
Carchemish is on the Euphrates River.
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated the
army of Pharaoh Neco at Carchemish in the
fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of
Judah.* Jehoiakim was the son of King
Josiah. This is the Lord’s message to Egypt:
3 “Get your large and small shields ready.
March out for battle.
4 Get the horses ready.
Soldiers, get on your horses.
Go to your places for battle.
Put your helmets on.
Sharpen your spears.
Put your armor on.
5 What do I see?
That army is scared.
The soldiers are running away.
Their brave soldiers are defeated.
They run away in a hurry.
They don’t look back.
There is danger all around.”
The Lord said these things.
6 “Fast men can’t run away.
Strong soldiers can’t escape.
They will all stumble and fall.
This will happen in the north,
by the Euphrates River.
7 Who is coming like the Nile River?
Who is coming like that strong, fast river?
8 It is Egypt that comes
like the rising Nile River.
It is Egypt that comes
like that strong, fast river.
Egypt says,
‘I will come and cover the earth.
I will destroy the cities
and the people in them.’
9 Horse soldiers, charge into battle.
Chariot drivers, drive fast.
March on, brave soldiers.
Soldiers from Cush and Put,
carry your shields.
Soldiers from Lydia,
use your bows.
10 “But at that time, our Master,
the Lord All-Powerful, will win.
At that time, he will give the punishment
that they deserve.

JEREMIAH 46:11–24
924
The Lord’s enemies will get the punishment He will be great like Mount Tabor
that they should have.
The sword will kill until it is finished.
The sword will kill until it satisfies
its thirst for blood.
This will happen because there is a sacrifice
for our Master, the Lord All-Powerful.
That sacrifice is {Egypt’s army}
in the land of the north,
19
and Mount Carmel near the sea.
People of Egypt, pack your things.
Get ready for captivity.
Why? Because Memphis will be
a ruined, empty land.
Those cities will be destroyed,
and no person will live there.
by the Euphrates River.
20 “Egypt is like a beautiful cow.
11
12
“Egypt, go to Gilead and get some medicine.
You will make up many medicines,
but they will not help.
You will not be healed.
The nations will hear you crying.
Your cries will be heard all over the earth.
One ‘brave soldier’ will run into another
‘brave soldier.’
21
But a horsefly* is coming
from the north*
to bother her.
The hired soldiers in Egypt’s army
are like fat calves.
They will all turn and run away.
They will not stand strong
against the attack.
And both ‘brave soldiers’
Their time of destruction is coming.
will fall down together.”
They will soon be punished.
13This is the message the Lord spoke to
Jeremiah the prophet. This message is about
Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack Egypt.
14 “Announce this message in Egypt.
Tell it in the city of Migdol.
Tell it in Memphis and Tahpanhes.
‘Get ready for war.
22 Egypt is like a snake hissing
and trying to escape.
The enemy comes closer and closer,
and the Egyptian army is trying
to slither away (escape).
The enemy will attack Egypt with axes,
like men cutting down trees.”
15
16
17
Why? Because people all around you
are being killed with swords.’
Egypt, your strong soldiers will be killed.
They won’t be able to stand
because the Lord will push them down.
Those soldiers will stumble again and again.
They will fall over each other.
They will say,
‘Get up, let us go back to our own people.
Let us go back to our homeland.
Our enemy is defeating us.
We must get away.’
In their homelands, those soldiers will say,
‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only
a lot of noise.
His time of glory is over.’”
23
24
The Lord says these things.
“They will chop down Egypt’s
forest (army).
There are many trees (soldiers)
in that forest (army)
but they will all be cut down.
There are more enemy soldiers
than locusts.*
There are so many soldiers,
that no person can count them.
Egypt will be ashamed.
The enemy from the north
will defeat her.
18 This message is from the King.
The King is the Lord All-Powerful.
“I promise, as surely as I live,
a powerful leader} will come.
horsefly A large insect that often flies around and bites cows
and horses.
north This refers to the army of Babylon coming from the north
to attack the nation of Judah.
locusts Insects like grasshoppers that could destroy a large crop
very quickly.

25The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel,
says: “Very soon I will punish Amon,* the
god of Thebes. And I will punish Pharaoh,
Egypt, and her gods. I will punish the kings of
Egypt. And I will punish the people that
depend on Pharaoh. 26I will let all those
people be defeated by their enemies—and
those enemies want to kill them. I will give
those people to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of
Babylon, and his servants.”
Long ago, Egypt lived in peace. And after
all these times of trouble, Egypt will live in
peace again.” The Lord said these things.
A Message for North Israel
27 “Jacob,* my servant, don’t be afraid.
Don’t be scared, Israel.
I will save you from those faraway places.
I will save your children from
the countries
where they are captives.*
Jacob will have peace and safety again.
And no person will make him afraid.”
28 The Lord says these things.
“Jacob, my servant, don’t be afraid.
I am with you.
I sent you away to many different places.
But I will not destroy you completely.
But I will destroy all those nations.
You must be punished
for the bad things you did.
So I won’t let you escape your
punishment.
I will discipline you, but I will be fair.”
A Message About the Philistine People
This is the message from the Lord that
47came to Jeremiah the prophet. This
message is about the Philistine people. This
message came before Pharaoh attacked the
city of Gaza.
Amon For many centuries Amon was the most important god of
Egypt. At the time of this prophecy he was not worshiped as
much in northern Egypt. But he was still the most important
god in southern Egypt, especially around the old Egyptian
capital city of Thebes.
Jacob Another name for Israel. See Gen. 32:22–28.
captives People that were taken away like prisoners.
925 JEREMIAH 46:25–47:7
2 The Lord says:
“Look, {the enemy soldiers
are meeting together} in the north.*
They will come like a fast river
spilling over its banks.
They will cover the whole country
like a flood.
They will cover the towns
and the people living in them.
Everyone living in that country
will cry for help.
3 They will hear the sound of running horses,
the noisy chariots, the rumbling wheels.
Fathers won’t be able to protect
their children.
They will be too weak to help.
4 Why? Because the time has come
to destroy all the Philistine people
The time has come to destroy
Tyre and Sidon’s remaining helpers.
The Lord will destroy the Philistine people.
He will destroy the survivors
from the Island of Crete.*
5 The people from Gaza will be sad
and shave their heads.
The people from Ashkelon will be silenced.
Survivors from the valley,
how long will you cut yourselves?*
6 “Sword of the Lord, you have not quit.
How long will you keep fighting?
Go back into your scabbard!*
Stop! Be still!
7 But how can the sword of the Lord rest?
The Lord gave it a command.
The Lord commanded it to attack
the city of Ashkelon and the seacoast.”
north This refers to the army of Babylon coming from the north
to attack the nation of Judah.
Island of Crete Literally, “Island of Caphtor.” Sometimes this
means Crete, and sometimes it means Cyprus. The Bible says
the Philistines originally came from Caphtor.
sad … cut yourselves The people did these things to show their
sadness.
scabbard A holder for a sword.

JEREMIAH 48:1–15
A Message About Moab
This message is about the country of
48Moab. This is what the Lord All-
Powerful, the God of the people of Israel, says:*
“It will be bad for Mount Nebo.*
Mount Nebo will be ruined.
The town of Kiriathaim will be humbled.
It will be captured.
The strong place will be humbled.
It will be shattered.
2 Moab will not be praised again.
Men in Heshbon will plan Moab’s defeat.
They will say,
‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’
Madmenah, you will also be silenced.
The sword will chase you.
3 Listen to the cries from Horonaim.
They are cries of much confusion
and destruction.
4 Moab will be destroyed.
Her little children will cry for help.
5 Moab’s people go up the path to Luhith.
They are crying bitterly as they go.
On the road down to the town of Horonaim,
Cries of pain and suffering can be heard.
6 Run away! Run for your lives!
Run away like a tumbleweed*
{blowing} through the desert.
7 You trust in the things you made
and in your wealth.
So you will be captured.
The god Chemosh*
will be taken into captivity.
And his priests and officials
will be taken with him.
8 The Destroyer will come against every town.
Not one town will escape.
The valley will be ruined.
The high plain will be destroyed.
The Lord said this would happen,
so it will happen.
This message … says See Isa. 15 for a similar message.
Mount Nebo A mountain in Moab, a country east of Israel.
tumbleweed A small bush short roots that is easily blown away
by the wind. In Hebrew this word is like the name “Aroer,” an
important city in Moab.
Chemosh The god of the people of Moab.
926
9 Spread salt* over the fields in Moab.
The country will be an empty desert.
Moab’s towns will become empty.
No people will live in them.
10 If a person does not do what the Lord says,
if he does not use his sword
to kill those people,
then bad things will happen
to that person.
11 “Moab has never known trouble.
Moab is like wine left to settle.
Moab has never been poured
from one jar to another.
He has not been taken into captivity.
So he tastes like he did before.
And his smell has not changed.”
12 The Lord says these things.
“But I will soon send men
to pour you from your jars.*
Then they will empty the jars
and smash them to pieces.”
13Then the people of Moab will be
ashamed of their false god, Chemosh.* The
people of Israel trusted that {false god} in
Bethel.* And the people of Israel were
embarrassed {when that false god did not help
them}. Moab will be like that.
14 “You can’t say,
‘We are good soldiers.
We are brave men in battle.’
15 The enemy will attack Moab.
The enemy will enter those towns
and destroy them.
Her best young men will be killed
in the slaughter.”
This message is from the King.
The King’s name is the Lord
All Powerful.
salt This is a word play, and we are not sure of the exact
meaning of this Hebrew word.
jars This probably means the cities in Moab.
in Bethel This means the temple that King Jeroboam built in the
town of Bethel. See 1 Kings 12:28–33. It is not clear whether
the people still worshiped the Lord there, but in a wrong way.
Or whether they worshiped a false god, perhaps the Canaanite
god El or Baal.

16 “The end of Moab is near.
Moab will soon be destroyed.
17 All of you people living around Moab
should cry for that country.
You people know how famous Moab is.
So cry for him.
Say,
‘The ruler’s power is broken.
Moab’s power and glory is gone.’
18 “You people living in Dibon,*
come down from your place of honor.
Sit on the ground in the dust.
Why? Because the Destroyer is coming.
And he will destroy your strong cities.
19 “You people living in Aroer,
stand next to the road and watch.
See the man running away.
See that woman running away.
Ask them what happened.
20 “Moab will be ruined and filled with shame.
Moab will cry and cry.
Announce at the Arnon River,*
that Moab is destroyed.
21 People on the high plain have been
punished.
Judgment has come to the towns of
Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
22 Judgment has come to the towns of
Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim,
23 Judgment has come to the towns of
Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, and Beth Meon,
24 Judgment has come to the towns of
Kerioth and Bozrah.
Judgment has come to all the towns of
Moab, far and near.
25 Moab’s strength has been cut off.
Moab’s arm has been broken.”
The Lord said these things.
26 “Moab thought he was more important
than the Lord.
So punish Moab until he staggers
like a drunk person.
Moab will fall and roll around in his vomit.
People will make fun of Moab.
Dibon A town in the country of Moab.
Arnon River An important river in Moab.
927 JEREMIAH 48:16–35
27 “Moab, you made fun of Israel.
Israel was caught by a gang of thieves.
Every time you spoke about Israel,
you shook your head and acted like you
were better than Israel.
28 People in Moab, leave your towns.
Go live among the rocks;
be like a dove that makes its nest
at the opening of a cave.”
29 “We have heard about Moab’s pride.
He was very proud.
He thought he was important.
He was always bragging.
He was very, very proud.”
30 The Lord says,
“Iknow that Moab becomes angry quickly
and brags about himself.
But his boasts are lies.
He can’t do the things he says.
31 So, I cry for Moab.
I cry for everyone in Moab.
I cry for the men from Kir Hareseth.
32 I cry with the people of Jazer for Jazer.
Sibmah, in the past your vines
spread all the way to the sea.
They reached as far as the town of Jazer.
But the Destroyer has taken your fruit
and grapes.
33 Joy and happiness are gone
from the large vineyards* of Moab.
I stopped the flow of wine
from the winepresses.*
There is no singing and dancing
from people walking on the grapes
to make wine.
There are no shouts of joy.
34“The people of the towns of Heshbon and
Elealeh are crying. Their cry is heard even as
far away as the town of Jahaz. Their cry is
heard from the town of Zoar, as far away as
the towns of Horonaim and Eglath
Shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim are
dried. 35I will stop Moab from making burnt
vineyards A garden for growing grapes.
winepresses A place for squeezing the juice from grapes.
Sometimes this was only a shallow hole in a large rock in
the ground.

JEREMIAH 48:36–49:2 928
offerings on the high places.* I will stop them
from making sacrifices to their gods.” The
Lord said those things.
36“I am very sad for Moab. My hearts cries
like the sad sound of a flute playing a funeral
song. I am sad for the people from Kir
Hareseth. Their money and riches have all
been taken away. 37Everyone has a shaved
head. Everyone’s beard is cut off. Everyone’s
hands are cut and bleeding.* Everyone is
wearing their clothes of sadness around their
waists. 38People are crying for the dead
everywhere in Moab—on every housetop and
in every public square. There is sadness
because I have broken Moab like an empty
jar.” The Lord said these things.
39“Moab is shattered. The people are
crying. Moab surrendered. Now Moab is
ashamed. People make fun of Moab—but the
things that happened fill them with fear.”
40 The Lord says, “Look!
An eagle is diving down from the sky.
It is spreading its wings over Moab.
41 The towns of Moab will be captured.
The strong hiding places will be defeated.
At that time, Moab’s soldiers will be scared,
like a woman that is having a baby.
42 The nation of Moab will be destroyed.
Why? Because they thought
that they were more important
than the Lord.”
45 “People have run from the powerful enemy.
They ran to safety in the town Heshbon.
{But there was no safety.}
A fire started in Heshbon.
That fire started in Sihon’s town*
And it is destroying the leaders of Moab.
It is destroying those proud people.
46 It will be bad for you, Moab.
Chemosh’s* people are being destroyed.
Your sons and daughters
are being taken away
as prisoners and captives.*
47“Moab’s people will be taken away as
captives. But in days to come, I will bring
Moab’s people back.” This message is from
the Lord.
This ends the judgment on Moab.
A Message About Ammon
This message is about the Ammonite
49people.The Lord says:
“Ammonite people, do you think that
the people of Israel don’t have
children?
Do you think there are no children
to take the land when the parents die?
Maybe that is why Milcom*
took Gad’s* land?”
2 The Lord says,
“The time will come in Rabbah of Ammon*
43
44
The Lord says these things:
“People of Moab,
fear, deep holes, and traps*
wait for you.
People will be afraid and run away,
and they will fall into the deep holes.
If anyone climbs out of the deep holes,
he will be caught in the traps.
I will bring the year of punishment
to Moab.”
The Lord said these things.
when people hear the sounds of battle.
Rabbah of Ammon will be destroyed.
It will be an empty hill
covered with destroyed buildings.
And the towns around it will be burned.
Those people forced the people of Israel
to leave their own land.
But later, Israel will force them to leave.”
The Lord said these things.
high places Special places where the people worshiped false
gods. These places were often on hilltops, but not always.
Some ‘high places’ were in valleys.
Everyone … cut and bleeding The people did these things to
show their sadness for people that had died.
fear, deep holes, and traps This is a word play in Hebrew. The
Hebrew words are: “Pahad, Pahat, and Pah.”
Sihon’s town This was Heshbon. See Numbers 21:25–30.
Chemosh The national god of the land of Moab, even though
Milcom was the god of the Ammonite people.
captives People that were taken away like prisoners. Here this
means the Moabite people.
Milcom The god of the Ammonite people.
Gad’s One of the family groups of Israel. Their land was on the
east side of the Jordan River, near the country of Ammon.
Rabbah of Ammon The capital city of the Ammonite people.

3 “People in Heshbon, cry!
Why? Because the town of Ai
is destroyed.
Women in Rabbah of Ammon, cry!
Put on your clothes of sadness and cry.
Run to the city for safety.
Why? {Because the enemy is coming.}
They take away the god, Milcom.*
And they will take away Milcom’s
priests and officials.
4 You brag about your strength.
But you are losing your strength.
You trust your money will save you.
You think no one would even think of
attacking you.”
5 But the Lord All-Powerful says this:
“I will bring troubles to you
from every side.
You will all run away.
And no one will be able
to bring you together again.”
6“The Ammonite people will be taken
away as captives. But the time will come that
I will bring the Ammonite people back.” This
message is from the Lord.
A Message About Edom
7This message is about Edom.
The Lord All-Powerful says:
“Is there no more wisdom in Teman*?
Are the wise men of Edom
not able to give good advice?
Have they lost their wisdom?
8 You people living in Dedan, run away!
Hide! Why? Because I will punish
Esau* for the bad things he did.
9 “Workers pick grapes from grapevines.
But they leave a few grapes on the plants.
If thieves come at night,
they don’t take everything.
10 But I will take everything from Esau.*
I will find all of his hiding places.
He will not be able to hide from me.
Milcom The god of the Ammonite people.
Teman This town was in the northern part of Edom.
Esau Jacob’s twin brother. But here this means Edom whose
people were descendants of Esau.
929 JEREMIAH 49:3–18
His children, relatives, and neighbors
will all die.
11 No person will be left
to care for his children.
His wives will have no one to depend on.”
12This is what the Lord says, “Some people
don’t deserve to be punished—but they suffer.
But Edom, you deserve to be punished—so
you will really be punished. You will not
escape the punishment you deserve. You will
be punished.” 13The Lord says, “By my own
power, I make this promise: I promise that the
city of Bozrah will be destroyed. That city
will become a ruined pile of rocks. People
will use that city as an example when they ask
for bad things to happen to other cities.
People will insult that city. And all the towns
around Bozrah will become ruins forever.”
14 I heard a message from the Lord:
The Lord sent a messenger to the
nations. This is the message:
“Gather your armies together!
Get ready for battle!
March against the nation of Edom!
15 Edom, I will make you become not
important.
Every person will hate you.
16 Edom, you scared other nations.
So you thought you were important.
But your pride has fooled you.
You live in those caves, high on the cliff.
Your home is high in the hills.
But even if you build your home
as high as an eagle’s nest,
I will bring you down from there.”
The Lord said these things.
17 “Edom will be destroyed.
People will be shocked
to see the destroyed cities.
People will whistle from amazement
at the destroyed cities.
18 Edom will be destroyed
like Sodom and Gomorrah*
and the towns around them.
No people will live there.”
The Lord said these things.
Sodom and Gomorrah Two cities that God destroyed because
the people were so evil.

JEREMIAH 49:19–32
930
19“Sometimes a lion will come from the
thick bushes near the Jordan River. And that
lion will go into the fields where people put
their sheep and cattle. I am like that lion. I
will go to Edom. And I will scare those
people. I will make them run away. None of
their young men will stop me. No one is like
me. No one will challenge me. None of their
shepherds (leaders) will stand up against me.”
26
27
So the young men will die
in the public squares of that city.
All of her soldiers will be killed
at that time.”
The Lord All-Powerful said these things.
“I will set the walls of Damascus on fire.
The fire will completely burn up
the strong forts of Ben-Hadad.”*
20
21
So listen to what the Lord has planned
to do to the people of Edom.
Listen to what the Lord has decided
to do to the people in Teman.*
The enemy will drag away the young kids
of Edom’s flock (people).
Edom’s pastures will be empty because of
what they did.
At the sound of Edom’s fall,
the earth will shake.
Their cry will be heard
all the way to the Red Sea.
A Message About Kedar and Hazor
28This message is about the family group of
Kedar and the rulers of Hazor.*
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,
defeated them.
The Lord says:
“Goand attack the family group of Kedar.
Destroy the people of the East.
29 Their tents and flocks will be taken away.
Their tent and all their riches
will be carried off.
Their enemy will take away the camels.
22 The Lord will be like an eagle
flying over the animal that it will attack.
The Lord will be like an eagle
spreading its wings over Bozrah.
At that time, Edom’s soldiers
will become very scared.
They will be crying from fear
like a woman having a baby.
30
Men will shout this to them:
‘Terrible things are happening all around us.’
Run away quickly!
People in Hazor,
find a good place to hide.”
This message is from the Lord.
“Nebuchadnezzar made plans against you.
He thought of a smart plan to defeat you.
A Message About Damascus
23This message is about the city of
Damascus:
“The towns of Hamath and Arpad are afraid.
They are afraid
because they heard the bad news.
They are discouraged.
They are worried and scared.
24 The city of Damascus has become weak.
The people want to run away.
The people are ready to panic.
The people feel pain and suffering
like a woman having a baby.
31
32
“There is a nation that feels safe.
That nation feels secure.
That nation does not have gates
or fences to protect it.
No people live near them.
The Lord says,
‘Attack that nation!’
The enemy will steal their camels
and take their large herds of cattle.
The enemy will steal their large herds.
Those people cut the corners of
their beards.*
25 “Damascus, is a happy city.
The people have not left that
‘fun city’ yet.
Teman This town was in the northern part of Edom.
Ben-Hadad This was the name of several of the kings of Aram-
Damascus.
family group of Kedar and the rulers of Hazor Kedar was the
name of an Arab family group that lived in the desert
southeast of the land of Judah.
corners of their beards The Jewish men did not cut their
beards like the Arabs did.

931 JEREMIAH 49:33–50:7
Well, I will make them run away
to the far corners of the earth.
And I will bring terrible troubles to them
from everywhere.”
This message is from the Lord.
A Message About Babylon
This is the message the Lord spoke
50about the nation of Babylon and the
Babylonian people. The Lord spoke this
message through Jeremiah.
33 “The land of Hazor will become a place
where only wild dogs live.
No person will live there.
No person will live in that place.
It will become an empty desert forever.”
A Message About Elam
34Early in the time when Zedekiah was
king of Judah, Jeremiah the prophet received
a message from the Lord. This message is
about the nation of Elam.*
2
3
4
5
“Announce this to all nations!
Lift up a flag and announce the message!
Speak the whole message and say,
‘The nation of Babylon will be captured.
The god Bel* will be put to shame.
The god Marduk* will be very afraid.
Babylon’s idols will be put to shame.
Her idol gods will be filled with terror.’
A nation from the north will attack
Babylon.
That nation will make Babylon
like an empty desert.
No people will live there.
Both men and animals
will run away from there.”
The Lord says,
“At that time, the people of Israel
and the people of Judah will be together.
They will cry and cry together.
And together, they will go to look
for the Lord their God.
Those people will ask how to go to Zion.*
They will start to go in that direction.
The people will say,
‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord.
Let’s make an agreement
that will last forever.
Let’s make an agreement
that we will never forget.’
35 The Lord All-Powerful says,
“I will break Elam’s bow very soon.
The bow is Elam’s strongest weapon.
36 I will bring the four winds against Elam.
I will bring them from
the four corners of the skies.
I will send the people of Elam
to every place on the earth
where the four winds blow.
Elam’s captives will be carried away
to every nation.
37 I will break Elam to pieces
while their enemies are watching.
I will break Elam in front of those people
that want to kill them.
I will bring terrible troubles to them.
I will show them how angry I am.”
This message is from the Lord.
“I will send a sword to chase Elam.
The sword will chase them
until I have killed them all.
38 I will show Elam that I am in control.
And I will destroy her king and
his officials.”
This message is from the Lord.
39 “But in the future, I will make good things
happen to Elam.”
This message is from the Lord.
Elam A nation east of Babylon.
6 “My people have been like lost sheep.
Their shepherds (leaders)
led them the wrong way,
Their leaders made them wander around
in the mountains and hills.
They forgot where their resting place is.
7 Whoever found my people hurt them.
And those enemies said,
‘We did nothing wrong.’
Bel This is one of the names of the god Marduk, the most
important god of the Babylonians.
Marduk Marduk was the most important god of the
Babylonians.
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.

JEREMIAH 50:8–20
Those people sinned against the Lord.
The Lord was their true resting place.
The Lord was the God
that their fathers trusted in.
8 “Run away from Babylon.
Leave the land of the Babylonian people.
Be like the goats that lead the flock.
9 I will bring many nations together
from the north.
This group of nations will get ready
for war
against Babylon.
Babylon will be captured by people
from the north.
Those nations will shoot many arrows
at Babylon.
Those arrows will be like soldiers
that don’t come back from war
with their hands empty.
10 The enemy will take all the wealth
from the Chaldean people.
Those soldiers will take all they want.”
The Lord said these things.
11 “Babylon, you are excited and happy.
You took my land.
You dance around like a young cow
that got into the grain.
Your laughter is like the happy sounds
that horses make.
12 Now your mother will be very ashamed.
The woman that gave you birth
will be embarrassed.
Babylon will be the least important
of all the nations.
She will be an empty, dry desert.
13 The Lord will show his anger,
so no people will live there.
Babylon will be completely empty.
Everyone that passes by Babylon
will be afraid.
They will shake their heads when they see
how badly it has been destroyed.
14 “Prepare for war against Babylon.
All you soldiers with bows,
shoot your arrows at Babylon.
Don’t save any of your arrows.
Babylon has sinned against the Lord.
932
15 Soldiers around Babylon,
shout the cry of victory!
Babylon has surrendered!
Her walls and towers
have been pulled down!
The Lord is giving those people
the punishment they should have.
You nations should give Babylon
the punishment she deserves.
Do to her what she has done
to other nations.
16 Don’t let the people from Babylon
plant their crops.
Don’t let them gather the harvest.
The soldiers of Babylon
brought many prisoners to their city.
Now the enemy soldiers have come,
So those prisoners are going
back home.
Those prisoners are running back
to their own countries.
17 “Israel is like a flock of sheep
that were scattered all over the country.
Israel is like sheep that were chased away
by lions.
The first lion to attack
was the king of Assyria.
The last lion to crush his bones
was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
18 So the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel, says:
‘I will soon punish the king of Babylon
and his country.
I will punish him
like I punished the king of Assyria.
19 “I will bring Israel back to his own fields.
He will eat food that grows
on Mount Carmel
and in the land of Bashan.
He will eat and be full.
He will eat on the hills
in the lands of Ephraim and Gilead.”
20 The Lord says,
“At that time, people will try hard
to find Israel’s guilt.
But there will be no guilt.
People will try to find Judah’s sins,
but no sins will be found.

Why? Because I am saving a few
survivors* from Israel and Judah.
And I am forgiving them
for all of their sins.”
21 The Lord says,
“Attack the country of Merathaim!
Attack the people living in Pekod!
Attack them!
Kill them and completely destroy them!
Do everything I commanded you!
22 “The noise of battle can be heard
all over the country.
It is the noise of much destruction.
23 Babylon was called
‘The Hammer of the Whole Earth.’
But now the ‘Hammer’ is shattered.
Babylon is the most ruined
of the nations.
24 Babylon, I set a trap for you.
And you were caught before you
knew it.
You fought against the Lord,
so you were found and captured.
25 The Lord has opened up his storeroom
and brought out the weapons of his anger.
The Lord God All-Powerful
brought out those weapons
because he has work to do
in the land of the Chaldean people.
26 “Come against Babylon from far away.
Break open the storehouses
where she keeps her grain.
Completely destroy Babylon.
Don’t leave anyone alive.
Pile her dead bodies like big piles of grain.
27 Kill all the young bulls (men) in Babylon.
Let them be slaughtered.*
The time has come for them to be defeated,
so it will be very bad for them.
It is time for them to be punished.
survivors People that escaped some disaster. Here this means
the Jewish people that survived the destruction of Judah and
Israel by its enemy armies.
slaughter(ed) Usually, this word means to kill an animal and
cut it into pieces of meat. But it often means to kill people like
they are animals.
933 JEREMIAH 50:21–34
28 People are running out of Babylon.
They are escaping from that country
and coming to Zion*.
They are telling everyone the good news
about what the Lord is doing.
The Lord is giving Babylon
the punishment it deserves.
The Lord is destroying Babylon,
because it destroyed his temple!
29 “Call for the men that shoot arrows.
Tell them to attack Babylon.
Tell them to surround the city.
Don’t let anyone escape.
Pay her back for the bad things
she has done.
Do to her what she has done
to other nations.
Babylon did not respect the Lord.
Babylon was very rude
to the Holy One of Israel.
So punish Babylon.
30 Babylon’s young men
will be killed in the streets.
All her soldiers will die on that day.”
The Lord says these things.
31 “Babylon, you are too proud.
And I am against you.”
Our Master, the Lord All-Powerful,
says these things.
“I am against you,
and the time has come
for you to be punished.
32 Proud Babylon will stumble and fall.
And no person will help her get up.
I will start a fire in her towns.
That fire will completely burn
everyone around her.”
33 The Lord All-Powerful says:
“The people of Israel and Judah are slaves.
The enemy took them,
and the enemy will not let Israel go.
34 But God will get those people back.
His name is the Lord God
All-Powerful.
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.

JEREMIAH 50:35–51:1 934
He will defend those people very strongly.
He will defend them so that he can let
that land rest.
But there will be no rest
for the people living in Babylon.”
42
43
Their armies have bows and spears.
The soldiers are cruel.
They have no mercy.
The soldiers come riding on their horses,
and the sound is loud like the roaring sea.
They stand in their places, ready for battle.
They are ready to attack you,
city of Babylon.
The king of Babylon
heard about those armies.
And he became very scared.
He is so afraid,
his hands will not move.
His fear makes his stomach hurt
like a woman having a baby.”
35 The Lord says,
“Sword, kill the people living in Babylon.
Sword, kill the king’s officials
and the wise men of Babylon.
36 Sword, kill the priests of Babylon.
Those priests will be like foolish people.
Sword, kill the soldiers of Babylon.
Those soldiers will be full of terror.
37 Sword, kill the horses and chariots
of Babylon.
Sword, kill all the soldiers hired
from other countries.
Those soldiers will be
like frightened women.
Sword, destroy the treasures of Babylon.
Those treasures will be taken away.
38 Sword, strike the waters of Babylon.
Those waters will be dried up.
Babylon has many, many idols.
Those idols show
that the people of Babylon
are foolish.
So bad things will happen to those people.
39 “Babylon will never again
be filled with people.
Wild dogs, ostriches,* and other desert
animals will live there.
But no people will live there ever again.
40 God completely destroyed
Sodom and Gomorrah*
and the towns around them.
{And no person lives in those towns now.}
In the same way, no people
will live in Babylon.
And no people will ever go to live there.
41 “Look!
There are people coming from the north.
They come from a powerful nation.
Many kings are coming together
from all around the world.
ostriches Large birds that live in the desert.
Sodom and Gomorrah Two cities that God destroyed because
the people were so evil.
44 {The Lord says,}
“Sometimes a lion will come from
the thick bushes near the Jordan River.
That lion will walk into the fields
where people have their animals.
{and the animals will all run away.}
I will be like that lion,
I will chase Babylon from its land.
Who should I choose to do this?
There is no person like me.
There is no person that can challenge me.
{So I will do it.}
No shepherd will come to chase me away.
I will chase away the people of Babylon.”
45 Listen to what the Lord has planned
to do to Babylon.
Listen to what the Lord has decided
to do to the Babylonian people.
“I swear (promise),anenemy will drag away
the young kids of Babylon’s flock
(people)
and Babylon will become
an empty pasture.
46 Babylon will fall,
and that fall will shake the earth.
People in all nations will hear about
51
the destruction of Babylon.”
The Lord says, “
I will cause a powerful, destructive
wind to blow against Babylon
and the Babylonian people.*
Babylonian people Literally, “Leb Kammai.” In Hebrew this
was a secret way of writing “Chaldeans.”

2 I will send foreigners to winnow*
Babylon,
and they will take everything
from the city.
Armies will surround the city,
and there will be terrible destruction.
3 The Babylonian soldiers will not get to use
their bows and arrows.
Those soldiers will not even put on
their armor.
Don’t feel sorry for the soldiers of Babylon.
Destroy her army completely!
4 Babylon’s soldiers will be killed
in the land of the Chaldeans.
They will be badly wounded
in the streets of Babylon.”
5 The Lord All-Powerful
did not leave Israel and Judah alone,
like a woman whose husband has died.
God did not leave those people.
No! Those people are guilty
of leaving the Holy One of Israel.
They left him,
but he has not left them.
6 Run away from Babylon.
Run to save your lives!
Don’t stay and be killed
because of Babylon’s sins!
It is time for the Lord to punish
the people of Babylon
for the bad things they did.
Babylon will get the punishment
that she should have.
7 Babylon was like a golden cup
in the Lord’s hand.
Babylon made the whole world drunk.
The nations drank Babylon’s wine.
So they went crazy.
8 But Babylon will suddenly fall
and be broken.
Cry for her!
Get medicine for her pain!
Maybe she can be healed!
winnow To separate grain from the hulls around it. Farmers
threw the grain with the hulls into the air. The wind blew the
hulls away and left the good grain.
935 JEREMIAH 51:2–14
9 We tried to heal Babylon,
but she can’t be healed.
So let us leave her,
and let each of us
go to our own country.
God in heaven will decide
Babylon’s punishment.
He will decide what will happen to Babylon.
10 The Lord got even for us.
Come, let’s tell about that in Zion.*
Let us tell about the things
that the Lord our God has done.
11 Sharpen the arrows!
Get your shields!
The Lord stirred up the kings
of the Medes.*
He has stirred them up
because he wants to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will give the people of Babylon
the punishment that they deserve.
The army from Babylon destroyed
the Lord’s temple* in Jerusalem.
So the Lord will give them
the punishment they should have.
12 Lift up a flag against the walls of Babylon.
Bring more guards.
Put the watchmen in their places.
Get ready for a secret attack.
The Lord will do what he has planned.
He will do what he said he would do
against the people of Babylon.
13 Babylon, you live near much water.
You are rich with treasures.
But your end as a nation has come.
It is time for you to be destroyed.
14 The Lord All-Powerful used his name
to make this promise:
“Babylon, I will fill you
with many enemy soldiers.
They will be like a swarm of locusts.*
They will win their war against you.
And they will stand over you
and shout the cry of victory.”
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.
Medes People from the Medo-Persian Empire. This empire
defeated the country Babylon.
temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship.
locusts Insects like grasshoppers that could destroy a large crop
very quickly.

JEREMIAH 51:15–30
15 The Lord used his great power
and made the earth.
He used his wisdom to build the world.
He used his understanding
to stretch out the skies.
16 When he thunders,
the water in the skies roar.
He sends clouds all over the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind
from his storehouses.
17 But people are so stupid.
They don’t understand what God
has done.
Skilled workers make statues of false gods.
Those statues are only false gods.
They show how foolish that worker is.
Those statues are not alive.
18 Those idols are worthless.
People made those idols,
and they are nothing but a joke.
Their time of judgment will come,
and those idols will be destroyed.
19 But Jacob’s Portion (God) is not like those
worthless statues.
People didn’t make God,
God made his people.
God made everything.
His name is the Lord All-Powerful.
20 {The Lord says,}
“{Babylon,} you are my club.
I used you to smash nations.
I used you to destroy kingdoms.
21 I used you to smash horse and rider.
I used you to smash chariot and driver.
22 I used you to smash men and women.
I used you to smash men, old and young.
I used you to smash young men
and young women.
23 I used you to smash shepherds and flocks.
I used you to smash farmers and cows.
I used you to smash governors
and important officials.
24 But I will pay Babylon back.
I will pay all the Babylonian people back.
I will pay them back for all the bad things
that they did to Zion.*
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.
936
I will pay them back so that you can see
it, Judah.”
The Lord said those things.
25 The Lord says,
“Babylon, you are a destroying mountain,
and I am against you.
Babylon, you destroyed the whole country,
and I am against you.
I will put my hand out against you.
I will roll you off the cliffs.
I will make you into a burned-up
mountain.
26 People will not take any rocks from Babylon
to use for the foundation of a building.
People will not find any rocks
big enough for cornerstones.
Why? Because your city will be
a pile of broken rocks forever.”
The Lord said these things.
27 “Lift up the war flag in the land!
Blow the trumpet in all the nations!
Prepare the nations for war against Babylon!
Call these kingdoms to come fight
against Babylon:
Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.
Choose a commander to lead the army
against her.
Send so many horses
that they are like a swarm of locusts.*
28 Get the nations ready for battle against her.
Get the kings of the Medes* ready.
Get their governors and all their important
officials ready.
Get all the countries they rule ready for
battle against Babylon.
29 The land shakes and moves like it is in pain.
It will shake when the Lord does what
he planned to Babylon.
The Lord’s plan is to make the land of
Babylon into an empty desert.
No person will live there.
30 Babylon’s soldiers have stopped fighting.
They stay in their forts.
locusts Insects like grasshoppers that could destroy a large crop
very quickly.
Medes People from the Medo-Persian Empire. This empire
defeated the country Babylon.

Their strength is gone.
They have become like scared women.
Babylon’s houses are burning.
The bars of her gates are broken.
31 One messenger follows another.
Messenger follows messenger.
They announce to the king of Babylon
that his whole city has been captured.
32 The places where people cross the rivers
have been captured.
The swamplands are burning.
All of Babylon’s soldiers are afraid.”
33 The Lord All-Powerful,
the God of the people of Israel, says:
“Babylon is like a threshing floor.*
At harvest time, people beat grain
to separate the good parts from
the chaff.*
And the time to beat Babylon
is coming soon.
34 “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
destroyed us in the past.
In the past, Nebuchadnezzar hurt us.
In the past, he took our people away,
and we became like an empty jar.
He took the best we had.
He was like a giant monster
that ate everything until it was full.
He took the best we had
and threw us away.
35 Babylon did terrible things to hurt us.
Now I want those things
to happen to Babylon.”
The people living in Zion* said these things:
“The people of Babylon are guilty
of killing our people.
Now they are being punished
for the bad things they did.”
The city of Jerusalem said those things.
36 So the Lord says:
“I will defend you, Judah.
threshing floor A place where grain is beaten or walked on to
remove the hulls from the grain.
chaff The seed coverings and stems separated from the seeds of
plants like wheat or barley. Farmers saved the seeds but let the
wind blow the useless chaff away.
Zion The southeast part of the mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Sometimes it means the people of God living in Jerusalem.
937 JEREMIAH 51:31–43
I will make sure
that Babylon is punished.
I will dry up Babylon’s sea.
And I will make her water springs
become dry.
37 Babylon will become
a pile of ruined buildings.
Babylon will be a place for wild dogs
to live.
People will look at that pile of rocks
and be amazed.
People will shake their heads
when they think about Babylon.
Babylon will be a place
where no people live.
38 “The people of Babylon
are like roaring young lions.
They growl like baby lions.
39 Those people are acting like powerful lions.
I will give a party for them.
I will make them drunk.
They will laugh and have a good time.
And then they will sleep forever.
They will never wake up.”
The Lord said these things.
40 “Babylon will be like sheep, rams,
and goats
waiting to be killed.
I will lead them to the slaughter.
41 “Sheshach* will be defeated.
The best and proudest country
of the whole earth
will be taken captive.
People from other nations
will look at Babylon,
and the things they see
will make them afraid.
42 The sea will rise over Babylon.
Its roaring waves will cover her.
43 Babylon will be like a dry, desert land.
Its cities will be empty ruins.
No people will live in those cities.
No people will even travel through them.
Sheshach Jeremiah used a special code to create this name. It is
like the code an army might use. It is a secret word for
Babylon.

JEREMIAH 51:44–58
44 I will punish the false god Bel* in Babylon.
I will make him vomit out the people
that he swallowed.
The wall around Babylon will fall.
And other nations will stop coming
to Babylon.
45 Come out of the city of Babylon, my people.
Run to save your lives.
Run from the Lord’s great anger.
46 “Don’t be sad, my people.
Rumors will spread, but don’t be afraid.
One rumor comes this year.
Another rumor will come next year.
There will be rumors about terrible fighting
in the country.
There will be rumors about rulers fighting
against other rulers.
47 The time will surely come—
I will punish the false gods of Babylon.
And the whole land of Babylon
will be put to shame.
There will be many, many dead people,
lying in the streets of that city.
48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
will shout with joy about Babylon.
They will shout because
an army came from the north
and fought against Babylon.”
The Lord said these things.
49 “Babylon killed people from Israel.
Babylon killed people
from every place on earth.
So Babylon must fall!
50 You people escaped the swords.
You must hurry and leave Babylon.
Don’t wait!
You are in a faraway land.
But remember the Lord where you are.
And remember Jerusalem.”
51 “We people of Judah are ashamed.
We have been insulted.
Why? Because strangers have gone into
the Holy Places of the Lord’s temple.”
Bel This is one of the names of the god Marduk, the most
important god of the Babylonians.
938
52 The Lord says,
“The time is coming, when I will punish
the idols of Babylon.
At that time, wounded people will cry
with pain everywhere in that country.
53 Babylon might grow
until she touches the sky.
Babylon might make her forts strong.
But I will send people
to fight against that city.
And those people will destroy her.”
The Lord said these things.
54 “We can hear people crying in Babylon.
We hear the sound of people destroying
things in the land of Babylon.
55 The Lord will destroy Babylon very soon.
He will stop the loud noises in that city.
Enemies will come roaring in
like ocean waves.
People all around will hear that roar.
56 The army will come and destroy Babylon.
Babylon’s soldiers will be captured.
Their bows will be broken.
Why? Because the Lord punishes people
for the bad things they do.
The Lord gives them the full punishment
that they deserve.
57 I will make Babylon’s wise men
and important officials drunk.
I will make the governors, officers,
and soldiers drunk too.
Then they will sleep forever.
They will never wake up.”
The King said these things.
His name is the Lord All-Powerful.
58 The Lord All-Powerful says:
“Babylon’s thick, strong wall
will be pulled down.
Her high gates will be burned.
The people of Babylon will work hard,
but it will not help.
They will become very tired
trying to save the city.
But they will only become fuel
for the flames.”

Jeremiah Sends a Message to Babylon
59This is the message that Jeremiah gave to
the officer Seraiah.* Seraiah was the son of
Neriah. Neriah was the son of Mahseiah.
Seraiah went to Babylon with Zedekiah king
of Judah. This happened in the fourth year
that Zedekiah was king of Judah.* At that
time, Jeremiah gave this message to Seraiah,
the officer. 60Jeremiah had written on a
scroll* all the terrible things that would
happen to Babylon. He had written all these
things about Babylon.
61Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “Seraiah, go to
Babylon. Be sure to read this message so all the
people can hear you. 62Then say, ‘Lord, you
have said that you will destroy this place,
Babylon. You will destroy it so that no people
or animals will live in it. This place will be an
empty ruin forever.’ 63After you finish reading
this scroll, tie a stone to it. Then throw this
scroll* into the Euphrates River. 64Then say, ‘In
the same way, Babylon will sink. Babylon will
rise no more. Babylon will sink because of the
terrible things that I will make happen here.’”
The words of Jeremiah end here.
The Fall of Jerusalem
Zedekiah was 21 years old when he
52became king of Judah. Zedekiah ruled
in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s
name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah.*
Hamutal’s family was from the town of
Libnah. 2Zedekiah did evil things, just like
King Jehoiakim had done. The Lord did not
like Zedekiah doing those evil things.
3Terrible things happened to Jerusalem and
Judah because the Lord was angry with them.
Finally, the Lord threw the people of
Jerusalem and Judah away from his presence.
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of
Babylon. 4So, in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s
rule, on the tenth day of the tenth month*
Seraiah Seraiah was a brother of Baruch, Jeremiah’s secretary.
fourth year … king of Judah That is, 594 B.C.
scroll A long roll of leather or papyrus (paper) used for writing
books, letters, and legal documents.
Jeremiah This is not Jeremiah the prophet, but a different man
with the same name.
ninth year … tenth month That is, January of 588 B.C.
939 JEREMIAH 51:59–52:13
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, marched
against Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar had his
whole army with him. The army of Babylon set
up their camp outside of Jerusalem. Then they
built ramps all around the city walls {so they
could get over those walls}. 5The city of
Jerusalem was surrounded by the army of
Babylon until the eleventh year that Zedekiah
was king.* 6By the ninth day of the fourth
month of that year, the hunger in the city was
very bad. There was no food left for the people
in the city to eat. 7On that day, the army of
Babylon broke into Jerusalem. The soldiers of
Jerusalem ran away. They left the city at night.
They went through the gate between the two
walls. That gate was near the king’s garden.
Even though the army of Babylon had
surrounded the city, the soldiers of Jerusalem
still ran away. They ran away toward the desert.
8But the Babylonian army chased King
Zedekiah. They caught him on the plains of
Jericho. All of Zedekiah’s soldiers ran away.
9The army of Babylon captured King
Zedekiah. They took him to the king of
Babylon at the city of Riblah. Riblah is in the
land of Hamath. At Riblah the king of
Babylon announced his judgment on King
Zedekiah. 10There at the city of Riblah, the
king of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons.
Zedekiah was forced to watch his sons being
killed. The king of Babylon also killed all the
king’s officials of Judah. 11Then the king of
Babylon tore out Zedekiah’s eyes. He put
bronze chains on him. Then he carried
Zedekiah away to Babylon. In Babylon he put
Zedekiah into prison. Zedekiah stayed in
prison until the day he died.
12Nebuzaradan, the commander of the king
of Babylon’s special guard, came to Jerusalem.
This was on the tenth day of the fifth month, in
the 19th year that Nebuchadnezzar was king.*
Nebuzaradan was an important leader in
Babylon. 13Nebuzaradan burned the Lord’s
temple. He also burned down the king’s house
and all the houses of Jerusalem. He burned
down every important building in Jerusalem.
eleventh year … king That is, 587 B.C.
19th year … king That is, 587 B.C.

JEREMIAH 52:14–30
940
14The whole Babylonian army broke down the
walls around Jerusalem. That army was under
the commander of the king’s special guard.
15Nebuzaradan, the commander, took the rest
of the people that were still in Jerusalem* into
captivity. He also carried away those that had
surrendered to the king of Babylon earlier. He
also carried away the skilled craftsmen that
were left in Jerusalem. 16But Nebuzaradan left
some of the poorest people behind in the land.
He left those people to work in the vineyards
and the fields.
17The Babylonian army broke up the bronze
columns of the temple. They also broke up the
stands and the Bronze Tank* that were in the
Lord’s temple. They carried all that bronze
away to Babylon. 18The army of Babylon also
took these things from the temple: pots,
shovels, wick trimmers, large bowls, pans, and
all the bronze things that were used in the
temple service. 19The commander of the king’s
special guards took these things away: basins,
firepans, large bowls, pots, lampstands, pans,
and bowls used for drink offerings. He took
everything that was made of gold or silver.
20The two pillars, the Sea and the twelve
bronze bulls under it, and the moveable stands
were very heavy. King Solomon had made
those things for the Lord’s temple. The bronze
that those things were made of was so heavy it
could not be weighed.
21Each of the bronze pillars was 27 feet*
high. Each pillar was 18 feet* around. Each
pillar was hollow. The walls of each pillar was
4 inches* thick. 22The
pomegranates too. It was like the first pillar.
23There were 96 pomegranates on the sides of
the pillars. All together, there were 100
pomegranates above the net design that went
around the pillars.
24The commander of the king’s special
guards took Seraiah and Zephaniah as
prisoners. Seraiah was the high priest, and
Zephaniah was the next highest priest. The
three doorkeepers were also taken as
prisoners.
bronze capital on top of
the first pillar was 7 1/2 feet* high. It was
decorated with a net design and bronze
pomegranates* all around it. The other pillar had
25The commander of the king’s
special guards also took the officer in charge
of the fighting men. He also took seven of the
king’s advisers as prisoners. Those men were
still there in Jerusalem. He also took the
scribe* that was in charge of putting people in
the army. And he took 60 of the ordinary
people that were there in the city.
26–27Nebuzaradan, the commander, took all
those officials. He brought them to the king of
Babylon. The king of Babylon was at the city
of Riblah. Riblah is in the country of Hamath.
There at the city of Riblah, the king ordered
all those officials to be killed.
So the people of Judah were taken from
their country. 28This is how many people
Nebuchadnezzar carried into captivity:
In Nebuchadnezzar’s 7th year* as
king of Babylon, 3,023 men were taken
from Judah.
29In Nebuchadnezzar’s 18th year* as
king of Babylon, 832 people were taken
from Jerusalem.
30In Nebuchadnezzar’s 23rd year* as
king, Nebuzaradan took 745 men of
Judah into captivity. Nebuzaradan was the
commander of the king’s special guards.
In all, 4,600 people were taken captive.
the rest … Jerusalem This is from the ancient Greek
translation. The Hebrew adds, “some of the poorest people”
before this line. This seems to have been accidentally copied
from the next verse.
bronze columns … Bronze Tank These verses list the things
that the Babylonian army took away from the Lord’s temple.
For a description of the temple furniture, see 1 Kings 7:13-26.
27 feet Literally, “18 cubits.”
18 feet Literally, “12 cubits.”
4 inches Literally, “4 fingers.”
7 1/2 feet Literally, “7 cubits.”
pomegranate(s) A red fruit containing many tiny seeds covered
with a soft, juicy part of the fruit.
scribe A man that wrote down and copied books and letters. He
often become an expert at the meaning of those writings
(Scriptures).
Nebuchadnezzar’s 7th year That is from the middle of 598
B.C. to the middle of 597 B.C.
Nebuchadnezzar’s 18th year That is from the middle of 588
B.C. to the middle of 587 B.C.
Nebuchadnezzar’s 23rd year That is from the middle of 582
B.C. to the middle of 581 B.C.

Jehoiachin Is Set Free
31Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, was in
prison in Babylon for 37 years. In the 37th
year of his imprisonment,* Evil-Merodach, the
king of Babylon, was very kind to Jehoiachin.
He let Jehoiachin out of prison in that year.
This was the same year that Evil-Merodach
became king of Babylon. Evil-Merodach set
Jehoiachin free from prison on the 25th day of
37th year of his imprisonment That is, 561 B.C.
941 JEREMIAH 52:31–34
the 12th month. 32Evil-Merodach spoke in a
kind way to Jehoiachin. He gave Jehoiachin a
place of honor higher than the other kings that
were with him in Babylon. 33So Jehoiachin
took his prison clothes off. For the rest of his
life, he ate regularly at the king’s table.
34Every day the king of Babylon gave
Jehoiachin an allowance. This continued until
Jehoiachin died.

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